To Be the Strongest
by jesphoenix05
Summary: AU. Aoshi sits down to play a game of go with teenage CEO Seto Kaiba, who asks him why a man as intense as he is would chose the lowkey, tranquil existence he lives now. The answer just might change his life…Rated for violence in later chapters. Canon pai
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Record of the Lodoss War, Stargate SG-1, Robotech, etc, etc…you know the drill

**Summary:**

AU. Aoshi sits down to play a game of go w/teenage CEO Seto Kaiba, who asks him why a man as intense as he is would chose the low-key, tranquil existence he lives now. The answer just might surprise him and maybe even change his life…

* * *

**THE STRONGEST**

**A wake up call…**

The first rays of the morning sun filtered through the window, awakening Aoshi from a pleasant dream. He turned his head slightly towards his left arm, and found that his reality was even more pleasant than his dreams.

He smiled and shifted his weight to allow his sleeping partner a more comfortable position on his chest. Misao moaned slightly as she adjusted herself and continued sleeping. He stroked her beautiful long black hair and marveled at all the twists and turns his life had taken. Many strange, wonderful and sometimes even scary adventures had taken him on great journeys. But there was nowhere he would rather be right now.

'Never would I have imagined I would end up here, but I am glad that I **am** here,' he mused contentedly and he kissed the top of his love's head. She cuddled up closer, wrapping her body around his, but slept on. He smiled…

'She is not much of a morning person, is she?' and suppressed a chuckle. He looked at the clock, it said six am. Since it was Saturday, he decided to let her rest. They had been up late last night and this was her first real day off in almost two weeks straight. He smirked when he thought of the pale look on Misao's manager's face when Aoshi had informed him that she was taking the weekend off.

"B-B-But Mr. Shinomori, Sir! S-S-She has several interviews and…" Kyle Lynn stuttered as Aoshi glared down at him daring Kyle to challenge the decision. His mouth opened and closed, but nothing further came out and Aoshi had been mildly impressed that he had actually gotten as much as he did out of his mouth.

While it is true that Kyle Lynn was the best in the business of creating superstar singers, Lynn also had a reputation for sending young up-and-comers into mental health clinics with nervous breakdowns. His last "protégé", his own little cousin Minmei, had run away to the U.S and checked herself into the Betty Ford Clinic, just to get away from him, his "scheduling genius" and a horrible addiction to caffeine pills and anti-depressants. Turning out and burning out young stars was something the bastard seemed to be good at…

'I will be damned if I let him harm Misao and her dreams,' he promised himself. His arm instinctively wrapped itself protectively about his lover. Misao moaned in her sleep again and rubbed her naked body against his naked form.

He smiled and relaxed 'Maybe we could just stay in…' he thought and pleasant little ideas about what they could do today if they stayed in, lulled him back to sleep…

**

* * *

**

Sometime after 8:30am the phone rang, startling them both out of their pleasant dreams. Aoshi growled angrily at the phone for its rude interruption as he picked it up…

"Hello!" he growled into the receiver.

"Good morning Aoshi! I hope I didn't wake you," came the cheerful and not at all intimidated voice of his best friend Kenshin Himura.

"As a matter of fact, you did," he growled

"I'm so sorry, that I am!" came Kenshin's sheepish reply and Aoshi smiled imagining his friend's face turning as red as his hair.

Misao moaned and lifted her head, "Who is it?" she asked sleepily

"It's Kenshin," replied Aoshi softly, brushing a few strands of hair gently away from her face

Misao smiled and sat up as Aoshi listened to Kenshin stumble through apologies. She gave him a quick kiss and said,

"Tell him I said hi!" She kissed him again as she got up and went into the bathroom.

Aoshi watched her go, she bounced along happily and within a few seconds he heard the water running in the shower. He almost sighed, but held back since Kenshin was still on the line. He put his now free hand behind his head…

"Misao says hi," he deadpanned and suppressed his laughter as Kenshin stumbled around with his words, trying to apologize again for calling so early. Finally, he chuckled slightly.

"What can I do for you my friend?" he asked releasing Kenshin from the torture of his embarrassment.

"Ah yes! Um…As you probably already know, Sano is visiting from the U.S. and I thought we could all go to our old high school hang out and get together for lunch! Miss Shuura is going to fly me, Kaoru, my brother and some of his friends that are visiting from the USA to Domino in one of her company's jets, if you and Miss Misao would like, we could pick you up on our way there!" explained Kenshin

"She's giving us a **_special_** discount," Kenshin whispered nervously. Aoshi laughed, Shuura, Kaoru's sister, was a crazy little extreme sportswoman that ran her own private jet charter and liked to live on the edge. She was good hearted, but Kenshin had always been a little afraid of her excessive **_enthusiasm_**, but for Aoshi it had been fortunate that she was the most reckless and intrepid of the Kamiya sisters. She was loyal and trustworthy, but most of all she could hold her own in any situation. A fact Aoshi had been grateful for time and time again…

"Hmm, I am sure Misao would like that," responded Aoshi, once he stopped laughing. "At what time will you be heading out this way?"

"We will be leaving in about an hour, Kurama and his friends want to go shopping and Kaoru wants to check out the Egyptian exhibit at the Domino Museum after we check in at the hotel where we'll be spending the rest of the weekend," Kenshin informed him, "after all, Miss Shuura can't fly us all to Domino and back on the same day, that she can't" he added nervously. Aoshi laughed…

"I am afraid we would not be able to be ready in an hour my friend, and it sounds like you already have too many passengers on your flight plan anyway," said Aoshi after he stopped laughing again.

"I understand completely Aoshi!" Kenshin replied, thoroughly embarrassed again. Aoshi chuckled…

"Perhaps we will take the road along the coast, it's only a two hour drive from Kyoto to Domino and we can stay at my house…" Aoshi thought out loud.

"I will ask Misao, but I am sure she would love to see the old gang," he concluded

"Oh, I sure hope so!" Kenshin agreed

"Either way, perhaps you would all like to come and stay at my place? I know father would like to see everyone," he invited

"What a great idea! Hold on, let me check," and there was silence on the line as Kenshin put him on hold. Misao was singing in the shower one of her bouncy little tunes. Her voice was muffled by the sound of the rushing water and the partially closed door but he could still recognize the song, he closed his eyes and listened to the cheerful sound of his beloved's voice

"Aoshi! Thank you for waiting!"

"Any time my friend, what is the verdict?" asked Aoshi

"Kaoru says she'd love to! My brother respectfully declines, he's staying at Hiei's condo and his friends already have reservations at the Hilton and Miss Shuura…" he paused and his voice cracked a bit as he continued.

"Miss Shuura also accepts, but she will not be joining us until Sunday morning due to other engagements," and Aoshi couldn't help chuckling at his friends audible relief at the last part.

"I can call and ask Yusuke and Kuwabara to join us," Aoshi suggested

"Oh! I already called Miss Keiko and Yusuke and they said they'd save us a table!" informed Kenshin cheerfully

"Good! Will Kurama and his friends be joining us at Burger World as well?" he asked

"My brother yes, but I believe his friends will probably join us after lunch…" Kenshin paused. His hesitation made Aoshi suspicious

"Kenshin…which friends is Kurama bringing?" he asked

"Well…you know…just some friends…from New York…Is that Miss Misao's singing I hear in the background?" he asked attempting to change the subject

"Kenshin…" Aoshi growled in warning

"Ted, Kyan, Jai, Thom and Carson," he shot the names out in rapid-fire succession hoping in vain that Aoshi would somehow miraculously miss them

"Figures…" Aoshi ground out. This time it was Kenshin's turn to laugh. The fab five always made Aoshi uncomfortable, especially Carson…

"Be nice Aoshi! They're really good guys, I'll have you know!" Kenshin laughed

"Maybe so, but they are too noisy and hyperactive in my opinion, especially Carson…" Aoshi commented and Kenshin just laughed harder. He heard the shower turn off as Misao's song ended

"Oh come on! They mean well! Besides everybody's noisy and hyper according to you Aoshi! You really should give them a chance, that you should," and he laughed

"I suppose since Misao likes them so much…" Aoshi conceded rather reluctantly

"That's the spirit! Well anyway, I guess we'll see you at noon then! Bye Aoshi! Say Hello to Miss Misao for me!" Kenshin happily called out

"Goodbye Kenshin. We will see you then," he returned and he hung up the phone.

"What did Kenshin want!" she called out cheerfully from the bathroom. Aoshi explained Kenshin's plans as he got up and went to the closet to pick out his clothes for the day. He frowned; there were not that many choices. Most of his wardrobe was in his apartment in Tokyo and his house in Domino, 'I will have to bring more' he thought.

"Sounds like fun!" Misao answered as she walked out. She stopped in mid-step…

'Wow! I wonder how many girls in the world get to have naked Greek gods standing in front of their closets every morning!' she paused to think 'only me! Ha, Ha!' she concluded with a big grin on her face. She watched as he pulled a handkerchief out of the drawer she had set aside for him, and polished off some invisible imperfection on the buckle of his belt.

'He's such a neat freak!' she covered her mouth to keep from giggling as he repeated the action with his already perfect dark blue shoes.

She lathered on her body lotion as she watched him hang a short sleeve light blue shirt on the back of the chair next to the closet, followed by a pair of dark blue Dockers and a matching blue blazer, as he continued to expand on the details of his conversation with Kenshin.

She couldn't help giggling though when he mentioned the fab five. He turned to her and attempted to give her a stern look and she laughed.

"Oh come on! Don't be a spoil sport Lord Aoshi! They're really neat guys!" He rolled his eyes at the mention of her childhood nickname for him, a nickname that had gotten him into quite a few fights in high school with jealous classmates, though he had not become aware that it was due to jealousy until much, much later.

With two long strides he cut the distance between them. His arms wrapped themselves about her waist and pulled her off the ground to give her long deep kiss. Finally, when his lips disengaged hers…

"Good Morning," he purred into her ear breathing in the flowery scent of her lotion

"Mmm…Good Morning to you too!" she whispered slightly out of breath. The phone rang again, Aoshi growled at it and Misao laughed

"It had better not be Lynn!" Aoshi growled dangerously throwing the phone a dirty look. But he knew Lynn knew better than to interrupt Misao's time off. He had tried it once and Aoshi had made him regret it!

"I'll get it! It might just be Kenshin calling back you know…" she said as Aoshi put her back down. He shrugged 'She's probably right' and went into the bathroom as Misao reached for the phone.

He entered the bathroom and looked around in dismay. There was water splashed everywhere…

'One of these days she's going to hurt herself!' he thought as he pulled out some old towels that he had asked the maid to leave there for just such an occasion. He wiped some of the water off the marble floor and removed the wet rug, replacing it with a dry one that he pulled out of the bottom cabinet. He pulled another towel out and wiped the water off the counter and around the sink

'How can someone so small splash so much?' he thought, shaking his head in mild disapproval. He could hear Misao laughing outside so he surmised that whoever was on the phone was not a threat to his weekend plans. Once the bathroom was cleared and set to his satisfaction, he went about his morning routine in his usual precise and neat way…

Misao watched him with undisguised _admiration_ as he walked out of the bathroom, his hair still damp and a small towel tied tightly about his waist, his cologne wafting towards her.

"Who is it?" he asked, a sexy little smirk playing on his lips

"It's Vicky-Sensei!" she answered cheerfully. He smiled more fully and in two giant steps he was kneeling on the bed with her, gesturing for the phone

"Vicky-Sensei! I think he wants to talk to you!" she laughed, passed the phone to him and pulled off his towel

"Sensei! Good morning! How was your trip?" he asked as Misao pushed him down towards the bed and straddled him. He bit his lip to keep from moaning as Misao traced the crisscrossing scars on his chest lightly with her fingers…

"Aoshi, my boy! It went well! Little Misao just told me you kids are coming down to Domino. Just like old times, eh!"

"Yes, like old times Sensei," he replied trying not to sound impatient as he reached up to undo the knot on Misao's bathrobe.

"Well! I guess since you kids are busy getting_ **ready**_ I will call Hannya to let him know you're coming! I have a few errands to run so I will catch up with all of you as soon as I can." She added as she laughed

"Uh…of course Sensei! We will see you later then, Thank you Sensei!" he responded trying to keep his tone bland but his free hand refused to stay idle as he watched Misao shrug out of her robe, toss it aside and begin trailing butterfly kisses along his chest.

"Very well. I will see you all later today! Do not be late Aoshi!" she teased.

"Never Sensei!" he responded seriously, but all he got was more of Sensei's laughter in return as she hung up the phone

He turned off the receiver and tossed it in the general direction of its base. His arms wrapped around Misao and she laughed as he pulled her down, twisting so she ended up underneath him. He smiled and pinned Misao in another deep long kiss. It didn't take them long to lose themselves in each other.

* * *

Fifteen minutes after ten they were rushing out the door…

"We're going to be laaaate," Misao teased

"We will not," Aoshi assured her calmly as he held the car door open for her.

He climbed into the driver's seat of his Mustang and peeled out the garage. He put on his sunglasses as they headed towards the highway and smirked as he expertly wove his car through the weekend traffic without slowing.

Misao didn't even flinch at his climbing speed. She was used to it and she had absolute faith in Aoshi's ability to control his powerful car. She played around with his radio, but finding nothing except commercials on, she reached into the glove compartment and pulled out Aoshi's little cd case.

Misao leafed through his music catalogue and was pleasantly surprised to see that some of his Metallica and Pearl Jam had been replaced with her music and his favored Led Zeppelin discs had been moved to the back of the case. She put on a Zeppelin and hit the random play button. She smiled when the first song that played was "Stairway to Heaven" Aoshi's favorite.

He lowered the volume and asked her what she and Sensei had talked about

She giggled "Girl Stuff…" she responded vaguely and giggled some more.

He frowned 'Hmm, these women are sneaky…' he thought 'especially when they giggle! I am glad Kenshin, Sano and the others will be there. We will need back up…'

"What are you thinking?" Misao asked sweetly. He narrowed his eyes…

"I was thinking whether I should call Kenshin and ask him to call for more back up" he answered in his trade mark stoic-ness.

"Back up for what?" Misao asked puzzled.

"To protect us from sneaky, giggling women and their "Girl Stuff" talk," he answered in his most serious tone

She laughed and he followed suit. She watched him with fascination 'laughter comes so much easier to him now,' she thought leaning back and settling in for the ride to Domino…


	2. Reunions

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Record of the Lodoss War, Stargate SG-1, Robotech, etc, etc…you know the drill

* * *

**Chapter 1: Reunions**

They walked into Burger World and looked up at the clock. It read 12:00pm…

Aoshi raised an eyebrow and smirked in triumph. Misao just laughed

"One of these days…" she teased. She pointed to where Anzu (Sano's baby sister) was jumping up and down and waving wildly at them. Aoshi smiled at her then put a protective arm around Misao and lead her inside, all the while glaring at any teenage boys attempting to get anywhere near her.

They quickly made their way up the stairs to the tables where the others were sitting. Aoshi was pleasantly surprised to find all his friends there already. He shook hands with Hiei, Kuwabara and Yusuke. Kenshin and Sano he hugged, and Keiko and Kaoru hugged him as soon as they released Misao. Since Anzu was the _baby_ she got away with throwing herself on Aoshi and planting a kiss on his cheek. He chuckled softly and ruffled her hair as he put her down…

"It is good to see you little Miss Anzu!" he greeted warmly

"Thanks! It's good to see you too Lord Aoshi!" she answered energetically, a big grin on her face. He frowned at the use of Misao's nickname for him. The others laughed…

"Whaaat! It suits you!" she defended perkily then she turned towards Kurama yanked him out of his seat and dragged him towards the jukebox. Aoshi just shook his head and took up a seat near the stairs to keep intruders away from their little impromptu party with his deadly glare.

He watched as the others, with the exception of Hiei, got up to join Kurama and Anzu as they danced. He made light conversation with Hiei as they looked around Burger World taking note of the growing number of people entering the establishment. Nobody ventured up the stairs, but there was a group of teenage boys Aoshi kept a particularly close eye on. Two of them looked like they might be brave enough to try and get past him and knowing Misao she would probably let them.

There were two tall boys and two short boys. The one with red and black spiky hair had his back turned and seemed to be talking on his celphone paying no attention to what the others were doing. The other three craned their necks to look in their direction.

He looked straight at them and gave them his scariest glare. The short one with glasses went pale and quickly looked away, the other two turned towards each other and talked excitedly. A couple of waitresses brought their food at the same time the boys received theirs. Misao who deposited herself on his lap blocked Aoshi's view for a moment; she gave him a kiss and said she'd be right back. He watched as she and Kaoru descended the stairs then returned to his observance of the crowd.

"Hey Aoshi! Did you know that those are Anzu's classmates!" said Sano pointing to the four boys Aoshi was glaring at earlier

"Hey Sano, are those the ones giving Anzu a hard time?" asked Kenshin joining Aoshi, Hiei and Sano by the stairs.

"What! Little Miss Anzu is being harassed by those boys!" exclaimed Aoshi getting up from his seat, Hiei got up and moved closer to where Anzu was dancing subtly assuming bodyguard mode.

"Well…not so much harassed really…more like teenage romance angst! But I just can't figure out which one is the cause," responded Sano trying to mollify him mindful of how dangerous Aoshi could be in "family defender" mode.

All three watched as one of the boys turned and froze, his face alternating between sorrow and anger. He was looking at Anzu who was still dancing with Kurama.

"I know that boy…that is Takeshi's son, Yugi," he said softly, recognizing the boy instantly, the boy was practically a clone of his father! The others nodded their agreement. The boy finally turned away and picking up his backpack rushed out of the restaurant

"Well, at least we know now who the culprit is. Let's go find out what's going on!" declared Sano. Kenshin followed…

"Coming Aoshi?" they both asked. He moved to follow, but shook his head and pointed out the alarming rate at which Burger World's clientele was growing

"Umm…perhaps you should stay here, that you should!" Kenshin suggested

"Yeah! Uh…we'll tell you how it went" Sano called out back to him as they rushed to follow Yugi

Aoshi nodded in response and returned to watching the crowd paying particular attention to the boys he and Sano had been watching. Anzu stopped dancing and went to stand next to him by the stairs; she was about to ask him what he was looking at when her face lit up with joy

"Hey Guys!" she yelled, waving enthusiastically.

Aoshi watched as the three boys he had been glaring at turned towards her and yelled her name in unison. She waved them over and they nearly tripped over themselves in their hurry to reach Anzu. She introduced them to everyone and Aoshi was impressed by the fact that the two tall ones, the blonde one named Jonouchi and the brunette called Honda didn't seem perturbed by the combined might of Hiei and Aoshi's glares. They also seemed to know a great deal about Aoshi and his friends' Olympic records, which served to lessen his doubts about them…a little.

After the introductions Misao went to sit next to Aoshi to eat her food as everybody else began to settle in around the table. Meanwhile Anzu and her friends talked. They seemed to be discussing the possible whereabouts of their friend Yugi. A subject he was interested in too. He had not seen Yugi, his mother or the Kame Game shop in over ten years and he felt slightly guilty of that negligence now. He had been diligent in keeping a correspondence with Yugi's mother and sending Yugi a birthday present every year, but had always found an excuse to stay away from the shop and its painful memories. This weekend he promised himself that he would make time to go and visit Mrs. Mutou…

"What's wrong?" Misao asked softly, puzzled at the more-serious-than-usual look that had suddenly darkened Aoshi's face

"Nothing…Just thinking about old times…" he replied softly, brushing a lock of hair gently away from her face as he pulled her close for a light kiss.

"Man, some guys have all the luck!" He heard Jou say and he couldn't have agreed more as he lengthened his kiss.

"Hey! Break it up you two!" Kaoru shrieked at them "This is a family restaurant! There are children here!"

Misao laughed as Aoshi broke away and glared at her. Kaoru just glared right back and all conversation at the table stopped in anticipation of a verbal battle. Misao was about to intervene when Jou chimed in…

"Hey! Peace out! Don't drag us into this!" Jou piped in holding his hands up in a placating gesture

"Yeah! We're neutral parties here!" Honda agreed a tad nervously.

"Besides, it ain't like there doin' anything we haven't seen or done before" Jou added with a mischievous wink

"True," agreed Honda smiling. But both boys were visibly relieved when Aoshi smirked and Kaoru sighed, letting the matter drop

"Where is little Anzu?" he asked changing the subject

"She went to find her brother and Kenshin," answered Hanasaki timidly. Aoshi nodded in response as Misao and everyone else went happily back to their food

"Yo! Kaiba alert…" said Honda softly, but not outside of Aoshi's hearing range. He got up from his chair and went to go look noting the slight edge of concern in Honda's voice

"Seto and Mokuba Kaiba," he confirmed as he watched the two boys walk in and make their way to the to-go counter

"Hey, you know those guys Aoshi?" Jou asked

"I met the elder brother briefly when I met his father Gozaburo," he answered stiffly

"Ugh…Gozaburo…super psycho number one, lucky you!" Honda said sarcastically. Aoshi smirked in response to the colorful description of Gozaburo and nodded in agreement.

"Well, I don't much like Seto, but he takes good care of his little brother, that's gotta make him way better than the old man!" Jou pointed out

"Yes it certainly does," Aoshi agreed thoughtfully. Jou put his thumb and index finger in his mouth and let out an ear splitting whistle…

"Yo, Mokuba!" Jou called out and waved him over.

Both brothers looked up and normally Seto would've sneered and ignored the mutt, but instead his eyebrows rose in surprise as he recognized the tall man standing next to Jou and Honda. Before he could think of how to react to the presence of Aoshi Shinomori, Mokuba was already happily bounding ahead, making his way towards the stairs. Seto had no choice but to reluctantly follow…

"Hey Mokuba! Want you to meet some new friends!" Jou called out amicably as the younger Kaiba bounced up the stairs followed by his brother. Jou, Honda and Hanasaki who wasted no time in introducing him to the girls first, greeted Mokuba enthusiastically. They greeted Seto with a forced politeness. Seto approached cautiously, eyeing Aoshi with suspicion. The man had once been set upon destroying Kaiba corp. after all and he wasn't sure were Aoshi stood on that ground now.

Aoshi sized up the young man and decided he would make the first move.

"Mister Kaiba, it is good to see you again," he greeted in a polite, business-like manner. Not to be outdone Seto moved purposefully forward and extended his hand…

"Good to see you too, Mr. Shinomori" Seto responded,

"Just call me Aoshi," he said as he returned Seto's firm handshake.

"Then it's just Seto," he countered

"Oh cool you guys know each other!" Mokuba piped up coming towards his brother

Seto introduced his little brother to Aoshi and Aoshi returned the courtesy by introducing Seto to all of his friends. Then Mokuba pulled his brother aside and the two conferred quietly for a moment. Once they were done, Mokuba turned back to the others, just as Anzu was returning, and invited everyone to continue the party at the Kaiba mansion. There was a unanimous agreement to move the party, especially when they leaned over the railing and saw how many people were massing already outside of Burger World chanting Misao's name.

Kurama got on his phone to tell his friends where to meet them at the same time that Kaoru got on her phone and told Kenshin where they'd be. Aoshi took point with Seto half a step behind him still refusing to be outdone. Kuwabara and Hiei took up the rear of their little group. Effortlessly, they lead everybody through the crowd towards the parking lot.

Misao waved cheerfully at the crowd as Aoshi put a protective arm around her, slipped on his sunglasses and headed towards his car. Hiei and Kuwabara followed with Jou tagging along. The others jumped in the Kaiba limo, with the exception of Honda, who jumped on his motorcycle saying he'd meet them there after he picked up his girlfriend.

* * *

The ride was short and uneventful with the Kaiba limo leading the way. Aoshi nodded in approval of Kaiba's new security systems as they arrived on the compound. There were many upgrades as far as he could tell. It would be much harder to get in now in comparison to when he and Jack had stormed into Kaiba mansion several years ago.

He rolled his eyes when he noticed that an SUV behind them was carrying the Fab five. Misao rolled down the window and waved at them. They all jumped out of their vehicles as they came to a stop in front of the house and entered.

Carson and the others made their way straight towards Aoshi as the others emptied out of the Kaiba limo.

"Very nice Aoshi! Those colors just suit you so well!" Carson drooled checking Aoshi out

Aoshi growled irritated at Carson as he continued commenting on how hot Aoshi looked today.

"I just love to see good-looking men who aren't fashion challenged!" Carson finished enthusiastically, lightly stroking the collar of Aoshi's jacket.

"Hey! Hands off! He's mine!" Misao called out playfully swatting away Carson's hand and barely restraining her laughter. Carson winked at her as he lifted his hand away from Aoshi's collar.

"You on the other hand are a Greek tragedy!" Carson exclaimed horrified as Seto joined them. Misao and Little Anzu nearly died laughing

"What is with all these buckles? They're so last decade!" he whined and launched into an explanation about why the white jacket just wasn't the right color for him and why the buckles were so not retro chic, what colors would suit him best, what types of clothing accentuate his best assets etc, etc. All of which, Aoshi observed with alarm, was not being well received.

'I better help him,' Aoshi thought as he saved the Fab Five's fashion expert from impending doom by challenging Seto to a game of Go. Seto's eyes lit up with excitement at the prospect of a match against Aoshi. He turned away from Carson and barked at an unsuspecting servant to fetch his Go board. Aoshi glared at Carson one last time before walking away.

'You owe me!' he thought irritated.

He heard Misao laughing as Carson said, "Somebody check the thermostat! Those two are making this room way too hot!"

"You know the sad part is he's already taken," Jai interjected sadly

"Very taken!" agreed Misao cheerfully

"Yeah, and by the time the other one is of legal age he'll be taken too!" Carson added in disappointment as the others voiced their agreements walking towards the opposite side of the room

"HA! Seto Kaiba! Fat chance of that!" Anzu commented sarcastically. Aoshi thought he saw a flicker of hurt cross Seto's face as they walked towards a small table in the far end of the room. He made a mental note to address the comment with Anzu later. A servant asked him what he wanted to drink and watched Seto's eyes widen in surprise when he asked for a simple iced green tea. Seto ordered the same…

* * *

Aoshi watched the intense young man sitting across from him as servants placed a Go board and their iced teas on the table between them.

'Seto Kaiba, not so long ago I had been just like him,' mused Aoshi

Once upon a time he had been obsessed with being the best, the strongest of the Shinomori men. To avenge his friend he would have gone to any lengths. To prove that he was the strongest, to restore his great-grandfather's legendary name and to prove himself worthy of it, he would have done absolutely anything…

Not so long ago…

At little Mokuba's request, Misao commandeered the Kaiba mansion's piano and began to sing:

_The way that you…_

_embrace me with your strong and powerful arms,_

_your haunting words keep me close to everything about you…_

'Funny how priorities change,' he thought as he looked in the direction that Misao's lovely voice was coming from

_ Romantic in ways… _

_ In ways that almost tear apart my heart _

_ Can't let you go…don't you know…_

Seto studied the man in front of him. When he had first met him he had wanted to be just like him and make Gozaburo shiver. Now it seemed he no longer was the intense man he'd once secretly idolized. He was disappointed…

"I don't understand," said Seto thoughtfully as he set up the board "you were once the most feared man in Japan, the most hardened criminals shivered just at the mention of your name. Even Gozaburo…" he stopped, his blue eyes looking into powerful green eyes.

'No!' Seto suddenly realized, 'he's still **_that_** man, but he's changed, he's gained something powerful!' His previous disappointment was banished in an instant! He wanted to about know this man! He was much more powerful than the Aoshi he'd met long ago in Gozaburo's office!

"So… 'How can the most feared man in Japan be content running his father's company and being bodyguard and lover to Japan's Pop music princess?' you wonder…" Aoshi finished for him sounding slightly amused, his jade eyes turning back to rest on the group of kids huddled around the piano listening to Misao.

Misao's voice rose:

_ Io sono prigionera…_

_I'm captive in your gentle hands…_

_I'm prisoner of your soulful eyes, your special smile_

_We'll never part…_

Seto nodded in answer, his eyes darted about looking for Mokuba. Aoshi pointed towards the piano,

"Your brother is over there," he informed Seto guessing correctly who the young man was looking for. Seto's searching eyes settled on the knot of people surrounding it. That idiot mutt Jonouchi was standing next to the keys blocking their view! Using the millennium Rod, Seto sent him a slight mental suggestion to shift to one side, allowing both him and Aoshi a clearer view. Mokuba was sitting next to Misao watching her with childlike adoration.

Aoshi smiled as his beloved's face came into view. Her sweet voice drifted towards him, soothing him as it always did…

_If the morning sun should free me…_

_It really wouldn't let me go…_

_I'd still be caught inside your love,_

_Can't rise above, _

_The chains of your heart…_

The sound of applause drifted towards them as Misao ended her song and got up from the piano. He watched her closely as she bowed and thanked everyone for listening. Mokuba was jumping up and down, talking excitedly, trying to get her to sing some more, but Misao politely refused.

Aoshi noticed with amusement that Mokuba's behavior as evidenced by Seto's frown, did not sit well with the elder Kaiba brother. Misao leaned over and whispered something to Mokuba, which made the boy smile and skip away happily. Seto's frown deepened…

Misao looked around the room and spotted Aoshi, she waved and smiled. He responded simply with one of his smoldering looks and a sexy little smirk he saved only for her. She blushed as her mind conjured up the images of last night and this morning's "activities" at the sight of _that_ smirk. She smiled and winked at him as Kaoru pulled her away towards the other guests.

"Do you really want to know?" Aoshi asked finally turning his attention back to Seto and piercing the young man with one of his trademark serious looks.

"Yes," replied Seto eagerly, his curiosity piqued. They tossed a coin to see who went first. Seto won the toss…

A rush of memories flooded his mind…

* * *

Please read and review! Thank you! 


	3. A trip down memory lane

**Disclaimer**: (this is just too depressing) I don't own Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Record of the Lodoss War, Stargate SG-1, Robotech, Dragonlance, D&D, etc, etc…it just goes on and on and on and on…

**Author note:** A series of slashes (i.e./) signifies flashbacks

* * *

**Chapter 2: A trip down memory lane… **

"Did you know I have known Yugi Mutou since he was two years old?" Aoshi asked Seto.

"No! I didn't!" Seto responded surprised as he placed the first stone on the board.

"His father was the person who taught me how to play Go. I must confess I have not played since I worked at the Game shop" he commented as he placed his first stone.

"_You_ worked at the Kame Game Shop?" Seto asked, taken aback.

"Yes. When I was in high school," he answered simply.

"I never would've imagined it!" Seto commented in disbelief as he took his turn.

"Neither would I, but if I had not I would have probably joined a gang and come to a bad end." He explained. The touch of sorrow in his voice didn't escape Seto's notice.

"So, how did you end up working there?" Seto inquired, unable to restrain his curiosity. Aoshi smiled sadly and placed another stone on the board.

"My father and I were constantly at odds. I got kicked out of several boarding schools until none would take me no matter how much money my father offered, so I finally ended up in Domino's public school system and my father hated that. So we argued often and whenever we quarreled I would leave the house and wander the streets for hours, occasionally getting into fights," he began gravely.

"Wow!" Seto replied. Aoshi didn't miss the slight touch of admiration in his tone.

"One day after another fight with my father, I went wandering and as I passed the Game shop, Yugi came running out laughing and screaming. His father came chasing after him trying not to laugh as he tried to order the little boy to stop. I don't know why, but I stepped in and caught Yugi as he came towards me. Tak stopped …"

"Tak?" Seto interrupted

"That is how we addressed Yugi's father, Takeshi." Aoshi clarified as he continued, "Tak stopped right in front of me, trying to catch his breath, unable to keep from smiling he tried to scold Yugi for running out of the shop, but it was not working very well. He introduced himself and thanked me for catching his son and then he invited me back into his shop." He smiled sadly at the memory. Tak's youthful smile and the way he and Yugi had readily accepted him as he was, making light of how serious Aoshi was for someone who was barely thirteen years old at the time.

"I am not sure to this day why I went in, but I will always be grateful that I did," Aoshi stated with great conviction. Seto nodded, his own life had also been altered drastically by a visit to the Kame Game Shop. He had learned the hard way that the Mutou family should never be underestimated.

Seto leaned forward listening intently to Aoshi recount his days with Tak as he evolved from being his somewhat reluctant apprentice to a good friend and trusted employee. Finally, he asked, "So what happened to Tak?"

"You don't know?" Aoshi asked puzzled that Seto wouldn't know that kind of information about his rival and his family. Seto shook his head.

"I only have a vague idea…" he responded.

Aoshi sighed heavily, he had no desire to relive those painful memories, but he wanted to reach out to Seto and the boy's interest just might give him an opening. As long as he continued to show interest there was hope that the damage done by Gozaburo could be repaired.

"Then I will tell you," he stated as the memories rushed into his mind…

* * *

/ 

Eleven years ago…

Aoshi hurried down the sidewalk to the Kame Game shop, a small smile appeared on his lips as he sighted it. It was nine am on a Saturday morning and with all his homework done he was free! He was glad he'd taken Tak's advice to be more polite to his teachers (even if they didn't deserve it!), not only did they not give him any detention this week, but they also didn't give him any extra loads of homework. Long leisurely strides carried him swiftly across the street towards the front of the shop.

He had tried being nice to his father, but that only resulted in the old man searching the house for drugs and cutting him off of his allowance when he protested.

"Stupid Father!" he grumbled angrily "he'll never be happy with anything I do!"

Working at the Game Shop was the only thing he looked forward to and he thanked his lucky stars for the fight with his Dad that had led to his discovery of the shop three years ago.

He pushed away the angry thoughts as he opened the door to the Game Shop. Takeshi Mutou and his little five-year-old son Yugi were unpacking a box of new edition Dungeons and Dragons RPG books.

"Hi Tak! Hi Yugi! Did I miss anything?" he greeted, feeling a little more cheerful now that he was inside the shop.

"Hi Aoshi!" cheerfully called out father and son

"You haven't missed anything! We just started…" responded Tak, then explained that the new inventory of RPG books, trading card games and puzzles arrived too late last night for him to put it out. Aoshi rubbed his hands in anticipation of checking out first hand all the new stuff as he asked the teenager to go to the storage room and pull out another box.

As he carried the box out two boys came in. Aoshi put the box down next to Tak and Yugi and went to help the new arrivals. It was the only part of the job he disliked. The dreaded customer service part!

He was naturally anti-social, so the first few weekends had been hard! Dealing with indecisive dorks tested his temper like nothing else, but with Tak's patient and gentle guidance he could feel the change in his outlook on life…

Tak, as the teenagers who frequented the shop affectionately called him, was a kind and patient man with a youthful sense of humor. His short stature and youthful appearance often caused people to mistake him for a teenager, though he was actually nearly thirty! His short and spiky black hair, well-worn sneakers and jeans, and his anime themed t-shirts helped perpetuate the myth. It was probably the reason Aoshi felt so comfortable around him. He was the exact opposite of his father. Severe, cold and distant Hannya Shinomori fell extremely short of Aoshi's vision of the perfect Dad.

'How I envy Yugi,' he thought, feeling a bit sorry for himself as he rang up his customers and waved goodbye to them.

"You all right Aoshi?" asked Tak noticing the melancholy that had slipped onto Aoshi's face.

"Yeah, just had another fight with my Dad is all," he answered shrugging as he picked up a stack of the new puzzles and put them on the shelf, but just as Tak was about to ask what happened, two more customers arrived.

Two girls that he vaguely recognized from school walked in. They started giggling as soon as they saw him. He walked towards them, struggling to keep from scowling. If there was one thing he hated more than anything it was giggling females! And the world seemed full of these brainless, giggling menaces these days.

'Why can't they just laugh if they're gonna laugh!' he thought angrily as he struggled to be as polite as possible. Before long they had him running back and forth through the shop, giggling and whispering every time he turned his back on them. They finally picked something and their flirtatious thank you was lost on him as he tried to ring them up as quickly as possible.

He plastered on a fake smile as he said, "Have a nice day!" and handed them their bags. Those actions sent them into a giggling fit and Aoshi had a hard time keeping the smile on his face and resisting the urge to reach over the counter, wrap his fingers around their scrawny necks and strangle them! Tak watched with quiet amusement as he continued unpacking the boxes.

He shook his head as they left, but no sooner had they gone than three more replaced them. Two more came in right after them, three more followed after that. The same scenario repeated itself all through the morning, testing the limits of his temper in the worst way possible! They had him running around in circles and every time he smiled it seemed to send them into hysterical giggling fits.

It was almost noon when the last group of insane giggling girls left the shop; he blew his breath out in exasperation "I thought it would never end!" he said tiredly shaking his head

"Well done Aoshi! You kept your temper in check and turned out a nice profit! Good job!" Tak praised and patted him on the back as little Yugi clapped and cheered. Aoshi smiled, slightly embarrassed by the attention, but feeling really good about himself.

"Thanks," he replied shyly ruffling little Yugi's black spiky hair and giving Tak an embarrassed smirk.

"Aoshi, why don't you take Yugi upstairs and the two of you can grab some lunch!" he invited cheerfully. The relief in Aoshi's face made Tak laugh. Yugi grabbed Aoshi's hand and pulled him towards the stairs while he called out a thank you to his boss and mentor.

Tak shook his head and laughed as he watched the two run up the stairs, then set about preparing his Go board for their weekly game and took out Aoshi's birthday present from a bag under the counter. Aoshi had wanted the "Sturm Brightblade" figurine to complete his set of Dragonlance figures for a long time now but had resigned himself to never getting it because the line had been discontinued.

'I had to call in a few favors but it'll be well worth the effort just to see the look on his face when he gets it!' he thought as he put the figure in a gift bag along with his birthday card and stuck the bag in the drawer under the register.

His smiling wife came down a few minutes later carrying a tray with food and a jar of iced tea.

"Hey Babe!" Tak's wife greeted sweetly, as she set her tray and jar down. Tak smiled and wrapped his arms around his wife, and since there was no one in the shop at the time, they indulged themselves in a brief, but passionate, kiss.

"What are the kids doing?" asked Tak, as he reluctantly pulled away and went to get a couple of foldable chairs from the storage room

"Aoshi offered to take care of Yugi for a while, so that you and I could have lunch together!" she explained cheerfully as she poured out the iced tea

"That boy certainly has come a long way, hasn't he?" Tak asked, a satisfied smile settling on his face

"All thanks to you, Hon…" his wife pointed out, as she handed him his iced tea

"I couldn't have done it without his cooperation!" He reasoned cheerfully.

"I'm very proud of him though. You should've seen him this morning…" he began as they sat and ate their lunch together, enjoying a few rare minutes of adult conversation thanks to Aoshi.

* * *

About thirty minutes later, the two came thundering down the staircase. Yugi laughed hysterically and Aoshi chuckled slightly as he caught the little boy and tossed him lightly into the air.

"Look I'm flying!" Yugi screamed as Aoshi spun him in the air.

"Aoshi! He just ate!" admonished Mrs. Mutou, though she couldn't help smiling at them.

Aoshi stopped immediately, despite Yugi's protesting, and put the little boy back down. He smiled and promised he'd play with him later. Yugi returned his smile and went up the stairs to get his toys with his mother close behind him, carrying the empty tray and jar. He noticed then that Tak had already set up the Go board for their Saturday game. His eyes lit up…

'I'm sure I'll win today!' he thought excitedly.

Tak had taught him how to play three years ago and he'd been amazed at how quickly Aoshi had picked up the game. 'A couple more years and he'll be good enough to be a professional! Perhaps I should encourage him along that route? Maybe get him into a tournament or maybe the Insei test even…' Tak considered as he watched Aoshi place his first stone; he was about to say so when he noticed the teenager was acting slightly fidgety and watching the door nervously. Customers continued to trickle in, but though it was now mostly the regulars, Aoshi jumped every time the doorbell chimed at the arrival of a customer.

"What's wrong Aoshi?" Tak asked, a note of concern creeping into his voice

"Well it's just…I don't understand it Tak! Why were all those girls acting so strange this morning?" Aoshi responded sounding slightly frustrated and embarrassed.

"What do you mean?" Tak countered slightly surprised by the boy's line of questioning

"Well, girls usually act really weird and usually I ignore them, but they've been beyond their usual weirdness lately! They're constantly giggling and whispering to each other whenever I pass by. They show up everywhere I go! I feel like I'm being stalked or that I'm on some sort of candid camera show that never ends or their planning some sort of great and terrible prank that they'll spring at any moment or all of the above!" he rambled on frantically.

Tak laughed at Aoshi's unexpected outburst, "Well what did you expect! You're a good-looking guy! All the girls want you!"

"Want me for what! I'm the most anti-social guy in my entire school and the biggest geek in my class! What possible good could I be to them!" he nearly yelled in his frustration.

"Don't you know Aoshi? Surely you're father has told you about it by now?" Tak inquired truly puzzled by Aoshi's apparent lack of understanding.

"My father doesn't tell me anything," he responded bitterly, looking away.

Tak sighed 'I was afraid of this,' he mused, he actually felt sorry for Aoshi's Dad. He had a great kid and didn't even know it! He took a deep breath and leaned slightly over the counter.

"So…what **_do_** you know about girls Aoshi?" Tak whispered conspiratorially, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Well just what they taught us in school…" Aoshi answered, his cheeks reddening slightly.

"Why?" he asked cautiously. Tak smiled mischievously…

They discussed the subject for a while, Tak filling in the holes in Aoshi's "education" as best he could. He couldn't help smiling, as the kid's eyes would occasionally widen at a particularly interesting revelation. This new information gave him new insight, not only on the giggling masses but on his friends as well. It explained why Kenshin turned into a basket case around Kaoru and why Sano was so obsessed with watching the cheerleaders practice. He was just trying to figure out if there was a way to use this new information in his favor when the door chimed again…

"Hi Tak! Hi Aoshi!" came a chorus of familiar voices from the door. Aoshi turned towards the door and smiled. His friends Kenshin and Sano walked in. With them Sano's baby sister Anzu, Kaoru with her sister Shuura and a pretty girl that seemed vaguely familiar to him, but wasn't able to recognize until she greeted him

"Hi Lord Aoshi!" she called out to him perkily

He winced at her use of the title, but smiled nonetheless "Hi Misao! How are ya!"

She laughed, "Sano you big liar! He did recognize me!" she yelled slapping Sano in the arm and laughing some more.

Well, it was no wonder he hadn't recognized her at first! She had changed drastically in the three years he hadn't seen her. First he observed that her tight blue jeans, white sneakers and mid-riff bearing pink Hello Kitty t-shirt were clean and new. Her face looked radiant with a slight touch of shimmering gloss on her lips and glitter on her cheeks that accented her pretty blue eyes. Her hair was clean, shiny and brushed back into a beautiful (and very long!) braid. Along with all that, the absence of the perpetual bruises on her arms and face eliminated the ever-present fear that always tainted her smiles. She was pretty as well as cheerful now and it suited her perfectly. He was very glad she was doing so well!

'And best of all…_she doesn't giggle!_ Thank goodness for that!' he thought. His heart warmed at seeing his old partner in crime doing so great!

He turned back towards where his friends were busy greeting the friendly shop owner and little Anzu was whining to be allowed to go play with Yugi, and introduced her to Tak. He greeted her warmly, welcoming her to his shop. He turned for a moment to call Yugi down thus placating Anzu. As he turned his attention back to the group of teenagers he gave Aoshi a mysterious smirk and a wink when he noticed that Misao had planted herself firmly next to Aoshi. Aoshi frowned wondering what Tak was up to.

"So Misao! Tell me, how did you and Aoshi meet?" Tak asked. As the rest of his friends spread out to see all the new stuff on the shelves and Sano sat on the floor to play with the little ones

Misao smiled "It was on his first day of school at Domino Elementary, I could tell he was a new student! First because I'd never seen him before and I'm very good at remembering faces you know; and second because he was soooo lost!" her smiled widened.

"Oh! So you rescued him!" Tak guessed cheerfully.

"Yep! You bet!" Misao confirmed.

"Well, how thoughtful of you! Go on please!" Tak encouraged enthusiastically. He glanced at Aoshi, noticing the way he hovered protectively over her and smiled, his eyes twinkling in great amusement. Aoshi's frown deepened as he noticed the twinkle in Tak's eyes; again he wondered what sort of mischief Tak was planning.

"Well! Let me tell ya! He was the most serious sixth grader I had ever seen! All the kids in my third grade class thought he was so scary!" she continued.

"But not you, right?" Tak supplied helpfully.

"Nah! I didn't think so!" she answered waving off the idea of Aoshi being scary as preposterous and launching into a spirited account of some of their more notorious adventures. Tak's eyes shone with glee! Aoshi sighed, resigning himself to the endless teasing that he knew Tak would subject him to as soon as his friends were gone.

He groaned as she dramatically recounted the time they'd sneaked into his teacher's locker and replaced his shoes with a pair of fluffy pink bunny slippers. The man had never been able to prove it'd been Aoshi, but gave him a hard time anyways after that. Tak laughed, he couldn't help enjoying Misao's enthusiastic narratives with the others jumping in to add colorful details to her stories. Aoshi shook his head and smiled, he'd forgotten what a wild motor mouth Misao was! Once she got going there was no stopping her!

"Misao, how come you refer to Aoshi as 'Lord Aoshi'?" Tak finally asked. Aoshi groaned and the others laughed. Misao glared at them before she turned to answer Tak.

"Well, as I said before, Lord Aoshi was the most serious sixth grader ever! So he reminded me of the samurai and knights you read about in history books and fairy tales, ya know! So I thought the title just suited him!" she explained happily as though it were the most logical thing in the world. Tak suspected there might be more to it than that but decided not say so for now. It sounded more to him like hero-worship than just a simple nickname.

"You know what? I think I see what you mean?" he agreed thoughtfully "he **_is_** too serious for someone his age."

Perfectly pleased with herself, she stood up straight and smiled triumphantly at the others who were still laughing. Aoshi didn't appreciate their amusement at her expense and sent them his most chilling glare. Slowly, they quieted down, except for Shuura, who seemed encouraged by Aoshi's glaring.

"Watch out everyone! Iceman's gone into weasel defender mode!" she declared, laughing hysterically.

"Don't call her that!" Aoshi growled at her, his hands curling into fists at his sides. She held up her hands in a placating gesture.

"Whoa! Chill Iceman! I'm just teasing!" she said a big grin on her face that widened as she noticed Misao mirror Aoshi's scowl.

"My name is not Iceman!" he informed her testily, relaxing his stance a little. Shuura just laughed!

"Old habits die hard, eh?" she taunted and she doubled over laughing hysterically.

"Shuura! Stop being such a pain!" Kaoru shrieked. Shuura just rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"Whatever... I'm gonna hit the road! I'll catch you geeks later!" she punched Kenshin playfully in the arm and threw Tak a jaunty salute as she swaggered out of the shop.

"What an interesting young woman…" Tak mused. But thanks to her, he could confirm it **_was_** hero worship of Aoshi that made Misao call him 'Lord Aoshi'!

"The words obnoxious and infuriating suit her better!" Aoshi ground out angrily.

"Now, now Aoshi! Miss Shuura isn't that bad! That she is not!" Kenshin defended nervously as he rubbed the arm she'd just punched. They all laughed…

"Yes, she is! You're just being too nice Kenshin!" Kaoru countered vehemently.

"You have to admit, Shuura does have a point though," Sano put in, looking up from where he was playing with Anzu and Yugi.

"How so?" asked Tak eagerly, as everyone's attention turned towards Sano.

"Well, every time Misao was in a jam, Aoshi would just jump to the rescue!" Sano answered as the others nodded their agreements. Aoshi just shrugged and Misao looked up at him slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah! Like that kid from our class! What was his name?" Kaoru added

"Gaske! That's it!" Kenshin answered

"What about him?" Tak wondered, as he noticed Aoshi scowl as the name came up

"He was the worst bully in the school!" Kaoru exclaimed

"And by worst, we mean most mediocre, a pathetic attempt really at being a bully!" Sano added smiling in amusement

"Yes, that he most certainly was! He would never bother anyone from our grade especially, not Miss Kaoru or Miss Shuura and definitely not Sano, Aoshi or myself. But he was always picking on Yahiko…" Kenshin added seriously

"Your little cousin Yahiko, Kaoru?" Tak inquired and she nodded

"The BIG JERK! What was he thinking picking on third graders! He was asking for it!" Kaoru declared forcefully.

"Hey Misao! Why don't you tell him that story!" Sano suggested grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"Yeah Misao! Tell him!" Kaoru added gleefully. Misao looked up at Aoshi, her cheeks reddening with embarrassment. He just smirked and shrugged.

"Go on…" Aoshi encouraged.

"Well ok…" she began sheepishly "like Kaoru said, Gaske was always picking on Yahiko until one day the guys got tired of it and decided to teach him how to defend himself"

"Things were pretty quiet afterwards when Yahiko finally stood up for himself!" Kenshin put in as Misao nodded her agreement.

"For a while anyways" Kaoru added irritated

"Let me guess…this boy eventually turned his negative attention on you, am I right Misao?" Tak interrupted softly, slightly disturbed by the serious nature of this story. If there was one thing no Mutou has ever tolerated, it was bullies! And the Mutou men were famous for their creative ways of confounding bullies of all kinds. She nodded vigorously, eager now to continue her story…

"Well anyway, one day after school I was sitting on a bench just outside the school waiting for Lord Aoshi and the others to get out," she began. "I always did that, by the way," she added as clarification. She picked up speed as she continued:

_Ten-year-old Misao sat at the bench across from the school gates waiting for her friends to come out as she always did. Her short legs didn't quite reach the ground so she just swung them happily back and forth singing a happy little tune. The sun was shining bright and cheerfully and not even her father would be able to ruin the pure joy she felt today!_

_Lord Aoshi and the others had surprised her this morning by filling her locker with birthday cards and presents! How they'd found out it was her birthday she didn't know, but she was glad they had. They'd even gone to the trouble of bringing a small cake and singing her 'Happy Birthday' at recess. Kaoru and Shuura had baked the little cake themselves and decorated it. It was dry and slightly burnt and the boys complained about it, but to her it was the most wonderful birthday cake in the history of birthday cakes! She had carefully wrapped up the leftovers and put it in her brand new backpack._

_Nobody had ever done anything like that for her before! She was so glad that she'd made such wonderful friends this year! She was eternally grateful for that fateful day when she'd met Lord Aoshi! She'd been late for class that day and had gotten into quite a bit of trouble for it when her father found out, but she never regretted helping him, especially today! She hugged tightly the teddy-bear shaped backpack Lord Aoshi had given her and wondered for the thousandth time that day how he'd known she'd wanted one just like it when she'd never told anyone before._

'_I'll have to ask him!' she thought happily, her rendition of 'It's a small world' getting louder and more cheerful with every passing second. She was so intent on her singing and daydreaming that she didn't notice Gaske and his two cronies until they were standing next to her with their backs to the gate. She looked up as he began to yell._

"_Shut up weasel! Your screeching is starting to irritate me!" he yelled angrily. Misao's only response was to take a deep breath and sing louder._

_She turned away from them as they continued to toss insults at her and ignored them as she slung her new backpack over her shoulders. Her friends spotted her as they came out and they frowned as they noticed Gaske near Misao. Happily still singing her song, she smiled at her friends, jumped off the bench and started towards them. She never got very far…_

_Gaske grabbed her ponytail and yanked her back "WHO GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO LEAVE, WEASEL!" he yelled at her as he shook her. She closed her eyes in pain as he practically lifted her off the ground by her hair._

"_LET ME GO!" she screamed angrily as she kicked at him blindly. She felt him suddenly release her and opened her eyes just in time to see why…_

_Gaske was slammed hard against the wooden bench Misao had just vacated. Standing over him with a fist full of Gaske's uniform in his left hand was Aoshi, shaking with uncontrolled rage! His right fist slammed hard into the bully's face._

"_You filthy!" _SLAM _"Rotten!" _SLAM _"COWARD!" _SLAM _Aoshi yelled at him as his fist connected again and again with the bully's face. But such was his rage, that even though his fist came away bloody he didn't back down. Sano and Kenshin had frightened off Gaske's buddies while Kaoru and Shuura, along with several other kids who had gathered around to watch, shouted encouragements towards Aoshi… _

Misao stopped suddenly, feeling very aware of how quiet everyone had suddenly become. Tak was leaning heavily over the counter hanging on her every word. Even the little ones had stopped playing to watch her enthusiastic recreation of the events. All the attention suddenly made her blush…

"So what happened next?" Tak asked, anxious to hear how things worked out. She looked down to her feet, her face bright red with embarrassment

"Well, Coach Anji came out when he heard all the commotion. Sano and Kenshin tried to pull Lord Aoshi away but they couldn't, so the Coach had to step in and stop Lord Aoshi!" Misao explained starting to sound more than a little flustered "Oh Tak! It was awful! Lord Aoshi got into so much trouble! Gaske's nose was so broken it was flat! Coach Anji had to practically carry him to the infirmary! And Lord Aoshi almost got _expelled_!" she practically yelled

"It's ok Misao. My only regret was not punching him harder," he commented nonchalantly. Horrified Misao gasped…

"Well, Gee! I'm so glad you didn't punch him any harder or you would've spent the rest of the year in juvi!" Sano added as he laughed

"Aoshi was quite mad, that he was!" Kenshin pointed out as he laughed too

"Like I said: Gaske had it coming!" Kaoru added gleefully "besides, the guy never did pick on anybody ever again! So something good came from it!"

Tak chuckled in amazement "Just when I think I've got you all figured out Aoshi," he said softly, a small proud smile finding it's way to his lips as he watched Aoshi trying to calm Misao, who was obviously still upset about all the trouble that he'd gotten into that day. He shook his head and remembering the two little ones in the room; he cleared his throat theatrically and spoke in an exaggerated formal tone.

"Well, as the only adult in the room I must point out that violence is never a good way to resolve a conflict and must be used only as a last resort, and only in self defense!" he winked at Aoshi and glanced at Anzu and Yugi who were staring at Aoshi with awe. The teenagers all got the hint and made a big show of agreeing with Tak. Misao most of all, who made it a point to tell the kids all the punishments Aoshi had to endure because of that confrontation.

Aoshi just shook his head and smiled 'I wish she'd stop worrying, I only did what I thought was right. The others would've done the same. I was just faster!' He smiled as he recalled how she'd stayed every day after school waiting for him to get out of detention. He'd felt so guilty about her waiting for him that he made it a point to always buy her lunch afterwards, because he knew her father wouldn't feed her if she was late.

Two more girls from Aoshi's school walked into the shop then and he reluctantly moved over to help them. The newcomers instantly began to giggle the minute he began walking towards them. He realized that knowing why they giggled so much didn't make it less hateful!

Misao frowned, she didn't like the way those girls were looking at her Lord Aoshi. They were looking at him like he was dessert! Like he was just a big piece of Lemon Pie or something and they were going to gobble him up any second! No she did not like it at all! They twirled and tossed their hair around, giggled and struck poses. No, she didn't like it _one little bit_! The final straw fell as the first girl spoke…

The first of the two girls, a very pretty blonde, pulled a puzzle box off the shelf without taking her eyes off of Aoshi. "So like, how many pieces does this one have?" she asked without looking at the box, batting her eyelashes and giving him a sultry smile. The second girl was a voluptuous brunette, she added

"And like, how big is it?" trying to sound sexy and not giving the puzzle even a glance.

Aoshi just stared at them in astonishment. He couldn't believe that they actually thought to impress him with this awesome display of air-headedness. He struggled to keep the smart-ass remarks that were jumping towards his tongue from making it all the way out of his mouth. They giggled and smiled at him, mistaking his silence for success in their attempt to seduce him. He was about to respond when Misao came up between them.

"Are you serious! I can't believe you really just asked him that! What's wrong with you people? Are you blind? Can't you see the _big, bold letters_ printed on the box!" she asked, her tone dripping with sarcasm

"Listen little girl, how we do our shopping is none of your business," the blonde retorted in a snippety tone as both girls looked down their noses at Misao. Aoshi didn't like their attitude one little bit, but before he could do or say anything Misao spoke up again

"Well it is my business when it's my time, as well as the hard-working clerk's time, you're wasting with your _brilliant _line of questioning!" she countered irritated.

"Because for your information, before you people got here, I was actually asking relevant questions like: What the price is on the ones with no tags… Which ones are the most challenging? Or, in your, case it would have to be which ones are the _least_ challenging…you know useful questions!" she finished derisively and before the two girls could come up with a good riposte she shoved herself in between them and Aoshi and grabbed a small puzzle box off the shelf.

"Let me demonstrate! And pay close attention there should be plenty of room in that empty head of yours for useful information like this!" she added in a most patronizing tone. She looked it over for a minute, making a big show of examining the outside of the box and then turning her back to the two girls, she handed the box to Aoshi.

"I'll take this one please!" she stated firmly as she looked up at him with a serious expression on her face.

Aoshi blinked, slightly stunned by how Misao had just jumped in, he had watched the whole exchange with a blank look on his face. Not knowing what else to do he took the box from her and asked:

"Will this be all for you today?" in as bland a tone as he could muster given that a great burst of laughter was suddenly building up in his chest, threatening to explode out of him any second!

"Yes. Thank you," she answered politely and strode purposefully over to the register. Tak was already waiting for her, his eyes shinning with hidden amusement. Aoshi followed leaving the two girls sputtering angrily behind him. Misao turned briefly towards her other companions as she reached the register.

"Kaoru are you ready?" she asked loudly to her friend who was busy trying not to laugh at the situation by examining the D&D books.

"No, I'm going to finish examining these before I make up my mind which one I want. I wouldn't want to waste a hard-working clerk's time by asking a million stupid questions," Kaoru replied in a loud sarcastic tone and shot the two girls a deadly glare. The Kamiya sisters were a legend at Domino High and everyone knew better than to mess with either of them! Just one look from Kaoru and both air-headed girls knew they had better drop it!

Sano however, not being one to miss an opportunity where boy-crazy, pretty girls was concerned, immediately moved in to take his place and by the time Aoshi reached the counter, Sano already had them giggling stupidly again. He shook his head and placed the puzzle on the counter. He was reaching for his wallet to pay for the puzzle as a token of his gratitude for rescuing him, but he froze. She glared at him, shaking her head she warned him silently not to even attempt to pay for it.

'I guess I'll have to make it up to her some other way!' he surmised, feeling proud at how much spunk Misao had gained in the years she'd been gone. He was surprised by how much he'd actually missed her and how happy he was to see her again.

Tak punched in Aoshi's employee discount and he made a mental note to thank Tak later for that as he bagged Misao's purchase. Smiling, Misao thanked Tak and Aoshi and went to stand next to Kaoru, waiting for those two girls to leave. Tak rang them up as Aoshi wordlessly bagged their purchases. Again, they mistook Aoshi's lack of customer engagement for success in their plans to seduce him. They waved flirty goodbyes to Aoshi as they made their way to the door. Aoshi just stared at them blankly…

Sano walked them out to the door and as soon as they were gone a great burst of laughter erupted in the shop. Even Yugi and Anzu, who didn't really understand what was going on, laughed hysterically. Tak suddenly stopped and stared at his young protégé. Aoshi was bent over the counter shaking with wild laughter!

'What a sight! In just a few minutes Misao has accomplished what I've been trying for three years to see!' he thought amazed. In all the time he'd known Aoshi, the most mirth he'd seen him show was a few short chuckles that Yugi occasionally coaxed out of him.

Smiling, he stepped out from behind the counter and walked over to Misao, who was trying to catch her breath from laughing so hard. He took her hand in both of his and shook it gently.

"Misao, you are a most charming and clever young lady," he announced smiling, then gestured for her to join him and Aoshi at the Go board. Aoshi looked up from the counter and gave her the biggest, brightest smile she had ever seen him give. She smiled back at him happy to have been responsible for that smile.

'Hmm, he should smile more often! He looks cute when he smiles!' Misao contemplated as she took her place next to him again, leaving Kenshin and Kaoru to their examination of the D&D role-playing books. Tak's wife came down stairs wanting to know what the ruckus was all about.

"Oh Kiki! You missed it!" Tak called out to her as she walked towards him and took his hand. He introduced Misao to his wife then happily recounted the recent events.

Kiki laughed "Well, it's about time someone put those boy-crazy teenagers in their place!" She winked at Misao as she noticed the girl blushing under all the attention and praise. She exchanged a knowing look with her husband when she observed how she and Aoshi were laughing and smiling together.

Finally Aoshi asked, "When did you get back in town?" curious as to why he hadn't heard about it

"Just yesterday! I tried to call you last night but your father told me that you weren't home, so I called Kaoru and she said you were working here on the weekends and that we should all just come over and surprise you!" she happily explained

"Oh yeah…I was at Sano's last night, we were working on a project," he realized, his mind suddenly awhirl with questions. Three years had passed and even though she wrote to him every now and then he still wanted to know so many things. He sifted through the myriad of questions that was overloading his brain, for the most important one, Tak beat him to it…

"How long will you be staying?" Tak asked

"For a year at least! My uncle Shiro is opening an Aoiya here and I volunteered to come help so I could come see you guys!" she answered, her excitement plainly visible on her face.

"That's great Misao! It's good to have you back…" said Aoshi. Misao smiled brightly

"Wait…did you say Aoiya? As in THE Aoiya!" Kiki queried "The most exclusive chain of restaurants in all of Japan!" she added shocked.

"Yep! My Gramps owns them!" she confirmed slightly self-conscious. Kiki and Tak gasped…

"Hey Misao! How come you didn't tell me that?" Aoshi blurted out suddenly, surprised that he would feel hurt that she hadn't told him something that big.

"Oh it just didn't seem that important, sorry," Misao answered sheepishly.

"Nah, don't be, I was just curious is all," Aoshi answered annoyed with himself for being pushy and hurting Misao's feelings. Tak and his wife exchanged another look as they watched the little drama unfold between the two. He noticed also that the other teenagers in the shop were doing the same…

"So that means you'll probably be going to school with us again, right?" Aoshi asked trying to change the subject

"Yeah! Isn't that something?" she replied, a little hopeful note in her voice

"It'll be great! Just like old times!" he said with a smile. Again he felt his heart warm at having her back safe and well.

"Yeah!" she yelled pumping a fist into the air "but this time, we'll never get caught! You'll see! My uncles taught me some really cool tricks on how to never get caught! I swear they must've been ninjas in another life!" she rambled on excitedly. Aoshi smiled with wicked glee.

'I'm soooo glad she's back!' he thought cheerfully, his mind already concocting all kinds of tortures for those idiotic teachers of his!

"Excuse me children, but I certainly hope you aren't planning on pranking your teachers!" Kiki pointed out sternly, with her arms crossed she looked to one then the other, waiting for them to answer. The severe look on her face meant business!

"Busted!" Sano said and laughed. Yugi and Anzu began chanting "Busted! Busted!" over and over again and fell over laughing hysterically.

Aoshi and Misao looked at each other and "No, ma'am," they both responded together contritely giving her a sheepish look as she lectured them on the virtues of being respectful of your elders, especially your teachers…

* * *

"Wait a minute! You were a prankster!" Seto interrupted astonished

"_We_ were and our record remains uncontested, even by high school standards, we were known as the Prank Demons," Aoshi responded, an amused smirk tugging on his lips. Seto threw his head back and laughed…

"So you're the legendary Prank Demons of Domino Elementary!" Seto laughed, shook his head and placed a stone on the board.

"Hey guys! Having fun?" Misao asked coming up next to Aoshi. He smiled as she perched herself on the arm of his chair. He put his arm around her waist as she put her arm around his back. Seto turned away embarrassed as they leaned towards each other for a kiss.

"So how's the game going!" Misao asked as their kiss ended.

"Seto has the upper hand, he is a strong player," he answered nonchalantly, Seto smirked proudly…

"Sounds like you're in trouble!" she pointed out. Aoshi just shrugged and placed a stone on the board…

"Probably…" He answered, noticing the flicker of pride that crossed Seto's eyes at the compliment.

"You know, you have very expressive eyes Seto, just like Mokuba! With a very lovely shade of blue! It's cute!" Misao noted cheerfully, changing the subject suddenly. Seto frowned and tried to focus on the board, but his mind was distracted by the compliments. No one had said things like that to him since he was very little…

"Misao, I think you are distracting my opponent," Aoshi pointed out, slightly amused

"No I'm not! He's way too serious to get distracted by a little tiny compliment!" she countered, waving off Aoshi's concern.

"Besides, I bet girls tell you things like that all the time! Huh Seto?" Misao asked the boy and winked at him. Seto frowned…

"Nope!" responded Mokuba for him, coming up behind Misao "he's always scaring people away with his deadly glare!" Mokuba explained cheerfully

"Well gee! Doesn't that sound familiar!" Misao rejoined sarcastically, looking straight at Aoshi. He just shrugged…

"At school the kids even call him the Dragon Master!" Mokuba added proudly. Seto smiled, touched by his little brother's pride in the nickname his love for his Blue Eyes White Dragons had gained him.

"Hey that's a pretty cool nickname! How'd you get it?" Misao asked a disarming smile covered a piercing look. Seto did a double take, amazed by the fearless intensity with which she was suddenly studying him.

"Oh! Oh! Can I show her! Can I big brother? Can I?" Mokuba begged, bouncing with excitement.

"Sure Mokuba. As long as you make her tell you how she and Aoshi got the title of Prank Demons of Domino Elementary," Seto answered, a sly look on his face. He was starting to see what Aoshi saw in her. She may appear ditzy and overly cheerful at first glance, but it was a cover. It made people greatly underestimate her, giving her quite the advantage! He thought perhaps the head cheerleader Anzu would benefit greatly by learning from her.

"_You guys_ were the Prank Demons!" Mokuba answered, his eyes wide with surprise, his voice full of admiration "you guys are _legendary_, wow!"

"I can't believe you told him that Aoshi!" Misao laughed then added "Ok Mokuba! I tell you how we got to be prankster demons and you tell me why they call you're brother 'Dragon Master' at school! Deal?"

"It's a deal!" Mokuba cheered pumping his fist in the air and doing a little happy dance before skipping over to his brother. Seto rolled his eyes, pulled his deck out of his pocket and handed it to his brother, who cupped his hands around the cards and carefully placed them into his vest pocket. He took Misao's hand and pulled her towards the study where Seto's duel disk was, Misao kissed Aoshi lightly before allowing Mokuba to pull her away. Seto and Aoshi watched them skip away happily; both marveling at how quickly Misao and Mokuba had latched onto each other.

"Those two seem to be getting along quite well," Seto noted thoughtfully.

"You're little brother must be very special, Misao is usually good with children, but I have never seen her get this attached before." Aoshi explained. This surprised Seto, he didn't know quite what to make of the situation, but seeing how happy Mokuba was around her it couldn't be bad. And truthfully he was starting to feel connected to Aoshi in a way that he couldn't explain.

"So you got a lecture from Mrs. Mutou about pranking," Seto began, trying to get back to the story. He was very interested in hearing more…

* * *

Thank you Kat-chan for your review! I hope you are enjoying the similarities between Seto and Aoshi as much as I am. There is much more bonding between those two to come! 

Enjoy!

Thank you for your feed back!


	4. Envisioned Beginnings

**Disclaimer**: (this is just too depressing) I don't own Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu-Yu Hakusho, Hikaru no Go, Stargate SG-1, Robotech, Dragonlance, D&D, etc, etc…it just goes on and on and on and on… I do however own some Victoria's Secret but then again what woman in her right mind can resist the lure of its semi-annual sale!

**Author note:** A series of slashes (i.e./) signifies flashbacks

* * *

**Chapter 3: Envisioned beginnings…**

"So you got a lecture from Mrs. Mutou about pranking," Seto began, trying to get back to the story.

"Yes and my advice is: never find yourself on the receiving end of a Kiki Mutou lecture!" Aoshi smirked in amusement at the memory.

"Too late!" Seto responded mirroring Aoshi's smirk.

"Oh…It wouldn't have anything to do with a recent incident at your new Duel Dome would it?" Aoshi asked, slightly amused as he placed another stone on the board.

"How'd you guess," Seto replied sarcastically. The incident with the god cards and the pyramid of light had been all over the news. The official story that ran was that Yugi and his friends were helping him test his new holographic dueling system and a malfunction on the system had caused an overload in all the electrical systems and the resulting explosion destroyed part of the dome. The story ran with the implication that maybe ex-Kaiba Corp employees might have sabotaged the system. Though he was starting to trust Aoshi, he wasn't sure he wanted to share the details about _that_ duel or about the millennium items. At least not yet…

"So what happened next?" Seto asked trying to steer the conversation back to the topic of Aoshi's past as he captured one of Aoshi's stones. Aoshi watched Seto as the teenager concentrated on the Go board and made his move.

'No, I didn't think he would share what really happened' Aoshi thought 'I still have a long way to go…'

"Well, Tak felt pity for us and bailed us out, after that we returned to our game…" Aoshi explained.

* * *

/

"Well, now this is a surprise!" Tak exclaimed as he tallied up the points on the board. This was the first time Aoshi had beaten him, and without a handicap no less! Tak was impressed. Kiki had gone to the back room to input last night's shipment in the computer. Tak called back to her to come and look as he pulled out a notepad that looked like graph paper and a few different colored pencils and began making a chart of the game they just played. He decided right then and there he would get Aoshi to take the Insei exam figuring that by next year Aoshi would be ready to take the Professional test. Kiki stepped out of the back room for a minute to offer Aoshi congratulations as well a knowing wink as she saw how close Misao stood! Then stepped back into the office…

"You must be his lucky charm," Tak whispered conspiratorially to Misao who blushed fiercely. Tak smiled and went back to making his chart. He knew Aoshi would need three charts of three different games he has played; a sponsor and pass an entrance exam. The sponsor would be no problem Tak knew his father Sugurouko would be more than happy to sponsor him.

The entrance fee might be a little problem but perhaps it was time to give Mr. Shinomori another progress report on his son. Besides one of the parents of the Insei applicant was required to be present and if he played his cards right (which he always did) he would easily be able to get Mr. Shinomori to participate. He smiled the added bonus of little Misao's triumphant return was going to make this Aoshi's best year ever!

"Oh no! Lord Aoshi has always been very smart! I'm sure it was just a matter of time…" she laughed nervously and tried to change the subject by asking about the cards Tak had behind a glass case. It was lucky Tak totally missed the blush on Aoshi's cheeks from her compliment or else the teasing would've been endless.

While Tak excitedly explained his favorite game: Duel Monsters, the door chimed again. Shuura had returned with five of her classmates. Kurama rushed towards the counter and encircled Misao in a tight hug lifting her clear off the ground. Aoshi frowned he wasn't sure why it bothered him that Kurama was being so affectionate. The Himura brothers (Kenshin and Kurama) had always been affectionate towards her.

"Misao! I want you to meet some of our new friends!" Kurama enthused as he introduced Yusuke Urameshi, Keiko Yukimura, Hiei Mozuko and Kazuma Kuwabara. Keiko was first to step forward and cheerfully greet her and it was no surprise when the two girls hit it off right away. Hiei merely nodded respectfully but like the good loner that he tried to be he kept his distance. Kazuma waved and cheerfully greeted her from the spot on the floor where he had joined Sano in entertaining the little ones. Yusuke looked at her tilting his head slightly to one side thoughtfully examining Misao's face.

"You know I think you really do look a little bit like a weasel…" he finally said in a deeply pensive tone. Aoshi was a blur of angry motion! In an instant he was in front of Yusuke, his face mere inches away from Yusuke's!

"Take it back!" Aoshi growled between clenched teeth his eyes burned with rage. Misao gasped in horror she hated it when Aoshi fought because of her.

"Oh, ho, ho! What's this? The Iceman's all riled up! Well, what ya gonna do about it Shinomori?" Yusuke challenged a mischievous grin on his face. Ever since Aoshi had started working for Tak he had stopped fighting and Yusuke missed those days when he could square off against his buddy and just have it out. For Yusuke fighting was a hobby, a passion he indulged in whenever possible. That he had lost his best opponent was something he mourned on an almost daily basis. He allowed himself only an instant of guilt for picking on an innocent just to get his old sparring buddy back as the two boys squared off.

"**YUSUKE! AOSHI!**" Tak's voice boomed across the shop freezing both teenagers to their spots the transformation that came over the man caught Misao by surprise! Everyone turned to look at Tak with his back straight and his arms across his chest he leveled both boys with an ominous glare. It was almost as though he had transformed into a different person. His voice became deeper and his posture was stiff and dominant. The cheerful easy going man of just a moment ago seemed to have disappeared and in his place was an imposing figure that instantly commanded the respect of every teenager in the room.

It was very surprising to Misao and a little frightening. Her father had a similar switch but his transformations usually meant big trouble for her. She firmly shook that thought away! She could tell that Lord Aoshi trusted him and he wouldn't do that if he were evil like her father. Tak was very strict when it came to violence especially in his shop. His shop was a haven for teenagers wanting to stay out of trouble but in return Tak expected them to follow his few but important rules: No Drugs; No Alcohol; No Swearing and last but not least; No fighting!

"**You know the rules!**" he intoned gravely. Both Yusuke and Aoshi backed off and mumbled apologies to Tak. Aoshi mentally kicked himself. He should've known Yusuke would try to bait him! He was always trying to get him to fight again! Now not only was Tak mad but as he cast Misao a quick sideways glance he could tell she was upset too! Both Misao and Keiko suddenly rounded on Yusuke.

"Yusuke! This is a new low for you!" Keiko almost shrieked at him. Yusuke merely grinned embarrassedly.

"I didn't mean…" he squeaked but Misao cut him off…

"You could've gotten Lord Aoshi in trouble!" Misao growled. Aoshi placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her from flying at him. Misao's temper was sometimes as big as her mouth!

"I'm sorry! Really I didn't mean it! I was just trying to see if Aoshi still had fighting spirit that's all! He's such a goody-goody these days it's boring!" Yusuke whined. This merely incensed Keiko and Misao further!

"SO WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT!" both girls yelled at him. Yusuke just grinned ruefully and scratched the back of his head. Aoshi shook his head as he heard everyone snickering slightly trying hard not to laugh out loud at Yusuke's predicament.

"What possessed you to say something that idiotic anyway?" Keiko huffed angrily.

"Shuura told us some stories about their old days in elementary school and I just wanted to see if it was true!" Yusuke cheerfully explained as though it was the most natural and logical thing to do. Keiko looked like she wanted to tell Yusuke all sorts of nasty things and her face started turning red from the effort of keeping it in. Misao looked at Aoshi in confusion she couldn't understand what was making this girl hold off her rampage. He pointed to a sign on the wall by the register the title on the sign read: **Tak's Store Rules** and Misao nodded in comprehension when she saw the "No Swearing" rule.

"You're such a nimrod!" Keiko finally spat out. Yusuke just snickered softly and put an arm around her shoulders which she quickly slapped off!

"Oh! I'm sure that all sorts of not so lady-like names for me will occur to you as soon as we leave!" Yusuke teased.

"Yusuke! You are such a…a…" Keiko began angrily but once again Tak's rule put a screeching halt on her charge.

"Ding-dong?" Misao supplied helpfully a silly grin on her face and the shop exploded once again in laughter perpetrated again by the little cheerful girl. Tak watched fascinated as even Hiei laughed. Misao was truly the much needed last piece of the puzzle. She turned to look at him and he returned her cheerful smile with one of his own. She cheerfully bounced back to the counter Aoshi followed and Tak threw him a mischievous wink. Aoshi frowned…

"Hey Tak; it's really amazing how you can make them stop fighting with just a couple of words!" Misao pointed out in her usual chipper tone.

"I detest violence above all things Misao and I don't want the boys to be swept up in the senselessness of it," he replied seriously. Misao gave him a big smile and she knew that never again would she ever compare Tak to her father! Her father was an abomination but Tak was a good and kind man who cared about all the kids that came to his shop! She was extremely happy that Lord Aoshi was friends with someone like him.

"Of course that's not to say that Tak can't fight!" Aoshi interjected smirking proudly. Tak was about to protest but his wife, who had come back out from the office when she heard Tak's voice change, cut him off.

"No hon…I think you better let them tell!" she said with a strange blazing look in her eyes that made the girls giggle. It was Tak's turn to blush!

"Ah yes! Now there was a fight to remember!" Yusuke began in an overly dramatic tone. Kazuma who was just as much of a fight enthusiast as Yusuke joined in then.

"You'd never think to look at him but Tak can really get goin' when the goin' gets tough!" he added. Kurama joined in then too.

"Was that seven or eight guys?" he asked casually,

"Eight," replied Aoshi non-chalantly and Misao's eyes went wide with amazement!

"Aw, I just chased away a bunch kids that's all!" Tak countered modestly.

"Chased away! Are you kidding those guys could barely move!" Yusuke exclaimed his face alight with sheer joy!

"Yeah, kids that were twice as big as you were!" Sano put in sarcastically at the same time.

"Yes sir they were quite big, that they were!" Kenshin commented then laughed in amusement.

"Man, I would've paid good money to see Tak fight! It's not fair!" Shuura whined. Again Tak shrugged,

"They were just kids!" Tak repeated somewhat embarrassed by the attention but mostly the look his wife was giving him.

They explained that a couple of years ago Yusuke, Hiei, Kazuma and Kurama had gotten into a fight with a powerful gang comprised of twelve rather large thugs. Aoshi, Kenshin and Sano had asked Tak for help. Tak had instructed them to call Sano's dad (who is a police officer) while he went over there and helped the boys. Sano had called but they had all rushed out to help Tak. They reached the scene in time to watch Tak single-handedly take down eight guys! He was a blur of motion that would've made Jet Li proud!

* * *

"Wait a minute…Yugi's Father could fight!" Seto interrupted incredulous. Aoshi smirked proudly.

"Oh yes…Tak could fight!" he assured Seto as he put another stone on the board. They hadn't even reached the middle of their game but already Aoshi could tell he was starting to gain some ground. It was a good sign! It meant that his opponent was more interested in what Aoshi had to say than the game and it was exactly what he was hoping. His hope was to give Seto the gift his Sensei had given him. Seto was just about to turn seventeen. It was the same age Aoshi had been then too…

"See, the thing about Mutous is that they hate fighting. They abhor violence and so they were forbidden to learn any form of martial arts. Except Tak who was so fascinated by Bruce Lee movies that he defied his father and went to learn Karate and Kamiya-Kasshin swordsmanship." Aoshi explained as he recounted the day Tak had laid waste to the "Jolly Devil" Gang. Hiei showed up then and pulled a seat near the two Go players.

"I wondered how long it would be before you finally joined us!" Aoshi commented amused as Hiei joined them. The man shrugged, just like Aoshi, Hiei hated social gatherings but for love of his surrogate family he tolerated it. But only to certain extent! He asked Aoshi how the game was going. Seto quietly watched the interaction between the two men soaking in every bit of information that came his way. He was fascinated by the fact that Hiei also had that aura of power that Aoshi had and now he was incredible curious as to how they got it and how _he_ could get it too!

"Not so good…I'm still behind and gained little ground but I haven't played in such a long time I'm not surprised by my weak game skills," he replied as he studied the board carefully. Hiei snorted derisively

"Sensei would probably tell you that's no excuse for losing!" he pointed out and chuckled in amusement. Aoshi chuckled along with him to Seto's complete surprise!

"You're right! She _will_ say that!" Aoshi agreed with a frown as Seto played his move. Seto's new move negated the ground he had thought he had just gained in his previous move. Seto smirked proudly but his smirk vanished at the calculating looks Aoshi and Hiei were studying him with.

"What weapon do you suppose Sensei would teach him?" Hiei asked studying Seto with a shrewd calculating stare.

"Staffs…" Aoshi replied automatically. "She's been dying to teach someone who will specialize in staff weapons," he explained. Seto frowned 'When did I agree to be taught anything by this mysterious Sensei?' he thought but at the same time he realized that if he wanted their kind of power he would have to walk a similar path to theirs.

"Staffs like this one?" Seto asked pulling his Millennium Rod out of his belt loop and extending it to its full four feet in length with a mental command.

"Not bad…Sensei will be overjoyed," Hiei commented amused. Aoshi frowned and studied the item pensively as Seto held it out for their inspection.

"How long have you had the Millennium Rod?" Aoshi asked suddenly surprising the hell out of Seto! Hiei just shrugged he was used to Aoshi's weird insights. That the man knew something about Seto's weapon that he didn't was no surprise to him.

"Not long…" he answered cautiously he opened his mouth to ask the logical next question but Aoshi seemed to read his mind.

"I saw it for the first time on my first trip to Egypt with Sensei. A friend of hers showed it to us but I was under the impression that it was some sort of sacred family heirloom and no one was allowed to touch it. How is it that you have it?" Aoshi wondered aloud intrigued by the millennium items presence here. Sensei had warned him that the resurfacing of the millennium items as well as other powerful alien technology meant the world would undergo another great change. She was unsure of how that change would come about but she had advised him to remain vigilante!

"I won in it in a duel," Seto replied simply putting the rod back in the belt loop he kept it strapped to. That made little sense to Hiei but resolved to wait until later and get clear answers from Aoshi. To Aoshi it made perfect sense only those with great willpower could control the millennium items. Not only that but according to Sensei you need to be genetically compatible with the item's original creator in order to activate its powers.

Seto studied the board intensely again and this was a bad sign. It meant Seto was ready to clamp up again and the ground Aoshi had just gained on the road to winning Seto's trust would be lost. Obviously the millennium items were a touchy subject with Seto and Aoshi knew he had a long way to go before the boy would trust him enough to open up about it. But the mere fact that Seto had shown him the item meant he was making good progress. He decided to change tracks…

"Hiei, I was just telling Seto about that time Tak took down the Jolly Devil Gang," Aoshi informed him changing the subject back to his past. Hiei always quick to catch on played along.

"A yes, Yusuke still talks about that fight sometimes! By the time the police arrived only four had been able to run away! It was an awesome fight," Hiei added wistfully. Seto looked up from the board with interest again.

"I still can't believe Yugi's father was like that! I mean the Jolly Devils were infamously strong! Yugi's rather wimpy and he does most of his fighting with his duel deck…" Seto countered "any actual fighting is done by the mutt and the monkey and as I recall even the cheerleader can swing better than Yugi can," Seto commented in an offhanded manner as he contemplated his next move.

"The what…?"

"…and the what?"

Hiei and Aoshi exchanged an amused/confused glance as they wondered out loud who Seto was referring to.

"Oh sorry! Katsuya is the mutt and Honda is the monkey. Anzu is the cheerleader but I suppose that if Sanosuke Sagara is her brother then it's no surprise that she can fight," he remarked thoughtful. Aoshi figured he was probably reassessing the girl whom he had most likely deemed a useless ditz. Hiei laughed and soon enough so did Aoshi.

"I think Keiko calls Yusuke and Kazuma that sometimes!" Hiei remarked amused.

"Keiko has **_special_** names for all of us Hiei especially when we come back from missions!" Aoshi added and chuckled. Hiei agreed and laughed with him. Seto found himself chuckling with them. He found it relaxing to sit and talk to people who understood him and didn't feel the need to lecture him endlessly about _friendship_. It was nice to find other people who didn't think it was bad to be as ambitious and seriously ruthless as he was.

"So what happened next?" Seto asked interested in getting back to the story. Aoshi nodded; he was glad he had not lost ground with Seto even if he _was _losing the game…

* * *

Thank you for reading and reviewing! 


	5. Always in motion is the future

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu-Yu Hakusho, Hikaru no Go, Star Wars…yes of course Star Wars! I worship at the Church of George Lucas! How do you expect me not to include him in my fiction! It's just not done people!

* * *

**Chapter 4: "Always in motion is the future…" – Master Yoda (Empire Strikes Back)**

"So what happened next?" Seto asked interested in getting back to the story. Aoshi nodded; he was glad he had not lost ground with Seto even if he _was _losing the game…

"We all took turns telling Misao about the fight…" Aoshi began as he took up where he left off…

* * *

(flashback)

"By the time the police arrived only four had been able to run away," Kurama explained.

"Only the ones that Tak wasn't fighting!" Aoshi added proudly and Misao smiled at Tak.

"I guess it's like Vicky-sensei says: Size Matters Not!" she commented cheerfully.

"Who's Vicky-sensei?" Aoshi asked changing the subject and trying to ignore the possessive feelings that kept popping up in his mind about Misao but failing miserably.

"Obviously a Star Wars fan," Hiei growled he was the only one in the group who hated the movies and disliked rabidly obsessive fans. His father was obsessed with Star Wars and he didn't get along at all with his father so he made it a point to hate everything his father liked. Aoshi explained as much to Misao as he shot Hiei an icy glare which Hiei ignored.

"Well, I'm a Star Wars fan too! It's not fair that you judge us all in the same light! Anyway Vicky-sensei, she is the best! She helped me through my rehabilitation and she's taught me all sorts of things!" she ranted on switching from annoyed to chipper in the blink of an eye! She went on and on about how the woman had taught her to sing, read and write music, dance, play the piano and even martial arts!

"Mostly for self defense though but a little bit of a lot of different styles! She calls me Little Ninja Princess because my Gramps and my uncles call me princess and because I'm really good at throwing daggers and stars! I can shoot anything in fact and never miss my mark!" she explained proudly in what appeared to be a single breath. Aoshi just stared in amazement then laughed he was glad that hadn't changed and he felt better that if required Misao would be able to defend herself.

"I think I remember her…Is she that American woman that can sing 'It's a small world' in fifty-two languages?" Aoshi asked unable to completely hide the pride he felt at how well she was doing.

"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" Misao excitedly affirmed bouncing happily and explained that she was currently in California checking up on all her businesses but that she would be back soon. Again she launched into a winded explanation about how this woman and her grandfather had been friends since the late 60's when she helped him save the original Aoiya from bankruptcy which she proudly explained was a historical landmark built before the Bakumatsu.

"Oh! I almost forgot! You guys are all invited to attend the Grand Opening next month! Please come!" she cheerfully pleaded. Tak smiled.

"I doubt there's any way my wife would let us miss it!" he explained cheerfully.

"You better believe it! The hardest part will be getting a babysitter since my sitter pool will be attending the gala!" Kiki added. Misao smiled triumphantly for she had the perfect solution.

"Oh it's not a problem just bring Yugi! Anzu will be there too! The Aoiya is a family restaurant after all! So you're all coming right?" she asked hopeful. Hiei opened his mouth to decline but was promptly elbowed in the stomach by Shuura.

"Sure we are! Even Hiei's coming!" Shuura smiled putting Hiei in a headlock to keep him from protesting.

"Yes I expect all of you there!" Tak intoned seriously then instructed Shuura to release Hiei which she promptly did and Tak gave him a meaningful glare. Hiei just shrugged and reluctantly agreed. The happy chatter of the now crowded game shop continued and Misao seemed to be really interested in Duel Monsters so Tak and Kurama played a demo game for her while Aoshi continued taking customers and restocking the merchandise with a little help from Kenshin, Kaoru and Keiko. The phone rang and Kiki answered it in the back then poked her head out…

"Tak, Mrs. Hasegawa is on the phone… She wants to know if you might let a couple of strong young men go over there to help her out!" she explained with an amused smile. Mrs. Hasegawa was a very old lady who owned the gift shop across the street and occasionally Aoshi would go over to her shop to help her put up her merchandise when her unreliable granddaughter didn't show for work.

Usually Aoshi didn't mind but today he wanted to stay with Misao not help a slightly deaf old lady whose useless granddaughter always stared at him like he was a piece chocolate! Reluctantly though he told Tak he would go. Much to his surprise Yusuke agreed to come along and help him get done faster. Kenshin joined him too. He promised Misao he'd be right back and all three boys left the shop.

They came back about an hour later carrying little white bags with the gift shop's logo on them. Misao noticed Aoshi's bag was much bigger than the ones carried by the other two boys. Yusuke presented his bag to Keiko declaring it a peace offering. Keiko reluctantly took the proffered peace offering and stopped glaring at Yusuke. Kenshin went to give his to Kaoru but he yelped in surprise and jumped back as Shuura's wrist came within an inch of his face. Kaoru shrieked at her sister for being a pest and Shuura just laughed.

"WHAAAT! I just wanted him to see the new bracelet Hiei and Kurama gave me!" she explained cheerfully. "Bracelet" wasn't exactly the word Aoshi would've used! It was an inch-wide black leather band with silver spikes on it. Misao told him that Shuura had been thrusting that thing happily into people's faces since she got it just now. Aoshi just shook his head and gave his bag to Misao.

"This is for you…" he said simply wondering why in the world he felt so nervous all of a sudden! His face felt warm and he hoped fervently that he wasn't blushing!

"For me! Thank You Lord Aoshi!" she piped up happily and opened the bag. She squealed in delight as she pulled out a twelve-inch tall dark blue bear with a picture of a rain cloud on its white belly. Aoshi let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding as she hugged the little bear…

"It's Grumpy Bear! He's my favorite! I can't believe you remembered!" she told him in a soft dreamy tone. Aoshi just shrugged embarrassedly.

"There's more…" he replied softly wondering why the shop was so quiet all of a sudden! Her head snapped up and excitedly she reached for the bag again without letting go of the bear! She pulled out a small white box with silver tinsel tied around it. She almost tore it open and her smile was so bright it could've lit up all of Domino! A delicate silver bracelet with a little bear charm hanging from it.

"Oh wow…" she whispered softly "I love it…" she added in awe. Clumsily Aoshi helped her put it on and she twisted and turned her wrist to admire the delicate bracelet then turned to show it to the other girls. Shuura made a face and declared it to be way too girly and Aoshi should demand a refund. The other girls just groaned as they each showed off the bracelets they'd gotten. Both Kaoru and Keiko got charm bracelets too! Tak smiled gleefully at Aoshi and Aoshi knew he would not escape the teasing later tonight!

Sometime later a man walked into the shop looking for Misao…

"Hey Misao!" he greeted with a smile.

"Hi Uncle Shiro!" Misao greeted cheerfully and introduced the man to her friends and to Tak and his wife!

"Welcome to the Kame Game shop!" Tak greeted enthusiastically as he stepped out from behind the counter. But just as he and Kiki were inviting the man upstairs so the three adults could sit and talk over a cup of tea (and so Shiro could be put up to date on the day's events!) a beautiful and elegant foreign woman swept gracefully into the shop.

"Good Afternoon!" she said in a soft melodious foreign accent.

"Vicky-sensei!" Misao called out joy bursting out of every single pore of her body as she ran to embrace the old woman…

Aoshi watched as the two greeted each other. The woman looked to be in her early sixties her light brown hair was flecked with white strands and was swept up in an artfully messy bun with a few strands arranged carefully around her face. She wore a perfectly tailored dark blue business suit and didn't seem to be wearing much make-up or jewelry. She lovingly stroked Misao's cheek who was happily surprised to see her back from America so soon.

Despite her obviously being old Aoshi was surprised by her exotic beauty. Her eyes were a strange mix of hazel and green and her skin had a light golden brown tone. Every movement she made was soft and graceful she positively oozed elegance and beauty! But there was something else…there was a subtle aura of power to her and he felt a strange urge to bow to her as she approached.

"Well, I do recall most of you! Though we did not meet under the best of circumstances I am pleased to see you all doing well! And my, how you all have grown!" She remarked softly but her eyes had settled squarely on Aoshi. Back when he first met her he had felt deeply impressed with how she had told Misao's third grade teacher where she could go stick herself.

Misao's father had beaten ten-year-old Misao to within an inch of her death and she had lain in a comma for weeks afterwards. When she finally awoke her teacher had come to visit her only to tell her something stupid about how Misao needed to learn to like herself before she could get others to like her and how she expected Misao to try harder next year. The woman had elegantly swept into Misao's room then and told the teacher in her elegant and poised manner to stick herself and her unwanted advice where the sun did not shine! That teacher along with half the faculty at Domino Elementary had lost their jobs soon afterwards!

He had thought it was just his twelve-year old mind that had made her more impressive than she really was but he was wrong. Looking at her now he realized he was just as impressed as he had been then. He straightened feeling as he had then that he wanted to make a good impression. He began to bow to her but she caught his chin in her hand and pulled him back up. She looked deeply into his eyes then she smiled at him and somehow he knew he had succeeded in making a good impression.

Misao excitedly introduced her to her new friends and to Tak and his wife who to Aoshi's surprise were frozen in utter shock. As he looked around the room so were most of his friends! He wondered why? Misao introduced her as Victoria Stillwater. …

"You're…you're…" Tak stammered but was unusually tongue-tied and unable to continue. Kiki found her voice at last…

"You're THE Victoria! As in the Victoria of Victoria's Secret!" Kiki almost shrieked. The woman modestly bowed her head and smiled. Aoshi stared even he knew who Victoria Stillwater was! She was a famous model from the late sixties and early seventies who had launched a revolutionary line of lingerie that was renowned the world over. Every woman in the world coveted undergarments made by "Victoria's Secret"; every man in the world coveted her very famous catalogue!

Aoshi watched with amazement as Kiki and Tak almost tripped over them selves to greet her and invite her into their home. She graciously accepted their invitation to tea but before she went up to the main house she made a point to greet each teenager. The usually smart mouthed Yusuke was unbelievably silent and awestruck as was Keiko. Out of all the teenagers present it seemed only Kurama was able to keep his wits about him and greet her in an elegant and mature fashion. She bent down to give Anzu and Yugi a kiss.

"Tak! She just kissed our son!" Kiki whispered awestruck. Aoshi heard Tak utter something that sounded like an "uh-huh" and then all four adults climbed up the stairs to the main house but not before "Vicky-sensei" gave Misao one more hug.

"Whoa!" Yusuke uttered softly. Keiko just nodded and an explosion of chatter suddenly erupted in the shop as his old friends apologized for not believing her when she had told them she knew her and his newer friends demanded to know what other famous people Misao knew! Aoshi just shook his head in disbelief. When he had met the woman at the hospital he had been unaware of who she really was (he was only twelve after all!) yet he had gotten the distinct impression that she was very important. Now that he was old enough to know what "Victoria's Secret" was all about he was intrigued by her.

Sooner than he would've expected the adults came back down to the shop. Kiki brought down her camera along with the tripod. She set the timer and gathered everyone around for a group picture by the counter. Then it was time for Misao to leave…

"Misao, we must go now…" the woman informed her softly. Reluctantly Misao agreed and turned to say goodbye to all her friends. Her Uncle Shiro invited everyone over to his house the next day for a small get-together and Tak assured him everyone would be there and informed them he would close the shop early tomorrow just for the occasion. Misao went to the counter to take her bear and gently put him back in the white paper bag and picked up her bag with her puzzle. Victoria noticed the bracelet then…

"Care Bears _and_ jewelry…a rather powerful combination! Who gave you such lovely tokens my Little Ninja Princess?" she asked but she shot Aoshi a knowing glance before Misao excitedly exclaimed that Aoshi had given it to her. The woman's smile broadened then but before she could comment all the teenagers gathered around her to say goodbye and she graciously accepted and thanked them for all of their attention. She took a moment to kiss and hug the little ones and Shuura bounced with pleasure as the woman complimented her on her leather spike band.

"I have two you know! One for each wrist and a matching choker!" the old woman informed her. Shuura's jaw dropped and she stared at the woman in awe. Victoria just smiled and promised to show them to her some time adding that if she was really good she would show Shuura her leather jackets and her swords too. Shuura stared at her with a confused look on her face as every one wanted to know about the swords.

Aoshi watched Shuura look at her leather wristband and step back. She seemed to be struggling with some internal debate. She reached up to touch her short boyish hair and frowned. Her frown deepened as she took in her customary boy-like attire. Some change was suddenly occurring in Shuura that Aoshi couldn't understand. He realized he wouldn't try; he would let her handle it. If she needed help she knew where to find it…

"I'll walk you guys out," Aoshi offered as they finally made their way out of the shop. Victoria smiled and exchanged a mysterious glance with the other adults. Misao bounced happily and chattered cheerfully as they made their way out the door. Victoria had parked her car near the entrance of the shop but Shiro had parked a ways down the street. He promised to meet the women later at the restaurant then turned to Aoshi put his hand on the teenager's shoulder and gave him a proud and grateful smile that confused Aoshi. He turned to leave promising to see him tonight as he walked away…

"Tonight?" Aoshi wondered out loud.

"Yes! Lord Hannya invited us to dinner tonight!" Misao perkily answered.

"My father did what!" he countered incredulous 'and why is she calling him that!' he thought. Misao just smiled and nodded.

"Yeah! Last night when I called he invited us! Lord Hannya is so sweet! He always visits me when he's in Kyoto and brings me presents!" she cheerfully added. Aoshi just stared at her as if she'd suddenly grown another head!

"No, that's not possible, I think you're mistaking him for someone else," he intoned gravely. Suddenly Victoria laughed!

"A Shinomori through and through!" she remarked taking Misao's little bear bag and the bag with her puzzle. She told Misao she'd wait in the car.

"No, I am not mistaking him with anyone! At any rate you'll see tonight!" she defended perkily. Aoshi shrugged and let it go. She was right after all he would see tonight. Still, he was relieved to know that if his father picked one person in the world to be nice to that the person was Misao. In at least that they agreed! They walked to the car door and Aoshi automatically opened it for her and she smiled shyly and for some reason she was blushing.

"Ok so I'll see you tonight!" Misao said sounding a little awkward. Aoshi smiled slightly and did something he never did. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her pulling her tight against his chest. At first she was so surprised she didn't react but as her arms wrapped around his waist he felt his heart begin to race!

"Misao, I'm so glad you're ok. I'm so glad you're safe," he breathed softly into her hair and knew he would never forget the sweet flowery scent of it. Reluctantly he released her and she looked up at him with a dreamy smile on her face.

"Thank you…" she said softly as Aoshi helped her into the car.

"Oh! Lord Aoshi I'm glad you didn't cut your hair!" she cheerfully told him and he blushed as he unconsciously reached up to touch the long ponytail his long black hair was strapped in to.

"Um… Misao can I ask you a favor?" he asked hesitantly trying not to think about the effect that simple hug was having on him.

"Anything Lord Aoshi!" she replied dreamily as she settled into her seat and absently reached for her seat belt.

"Just call me Aoshi please, no more Lord," he said reaching the seat belt before her hand did and strapping it for her. Misao blushed fiercely now!

"Uh…ok…" she replied in a barely audible whisper as he pulled himself out of the car "wa…was that it?" she stammered shyly. He nodded and smiled slightly then closed her door for her. She waved goodbye as the car pulled away and Aoshi just stood there watching it disappear into the light Saturday afternoon traffic. He stood there a little longer trying to get his heart to stop racing then walked back into the shop.

"So did you kiss her goodbye!" Yusuke teased. Aoshi just gave him a blank stare then ignored him as he headed back to the counter. Tak beamed!

"All right kids it's time for us to get ready to close so why don't you all start heading on home before it gets dark!" Tak announced. Everyone whined and complained especially Anzu who wanted to stay and play with Yugi some more. Sano promised to bring her back tomorrow which seemed to pacify her somewhat. She hugged Yugi tightly then jumped onto her brother's back and everyone began filing out as they called their goodbyes to Tak and Kiki. Shuura hung back and asked Tak if she could stay and help out.

"Sure! Why don't you start in the RPG books while Aoshi does the puzzles," Tak instructed as he pulled out the cash drawer and handed it to his wife so she could prepare the night deposit.

"You know for someone who sells women's underwear she doesn't seem very girly," Shuura commented absently as she helped out with the closing duties. Victoria had made a strong impression on Shuura the tomboy and she seemed to not be able to stop thinking about the old woman.

"Things aren't always what they seem," Tak replied thoughtfully and exchanged a knowing glance with his wife who walked back out with the night deposit ready for drop off.

"Shuura, why don't you and I take a ride to the bank? I have to stop at the grocery store on the way back, do you mind?" Kiki invited instinctively knowing Shuura wanted talk to someone. Shuura was never willing to talk to her sister or her mother because she considered them both too girly to understand her. For the most part she was right besides lately the only thing on Kaoru's mind was Kenshin and it was causing further strain between the sisters. Shuura's secret crush on said redhead boy just made things worse. Kiki was the only female Shuura felt comfortable talking to.

"Ok," Shuura accepted with a shrug. Aoshi took over the books section. Kiki asked Yugi if he wanted to come but the little boy was intent on finishing a puzzle he and Anzu started and refused to leave. Aoshi offered to watch him. Shuura and Aoshi turned away embarrassed as Tak and Kiki kissed; then the two girls walked through the back room to the garage and in almost no time Aoshi heard the Mutou family car roar out of the driveway.

"She's an incredible girl," Tak said softly breaking the silence that had settled in the shop. Aoshi nodded not looking up from his task waiting for the inevitable teasing that he knew would follow.

"Relax, I'm not gonna tease you!" Tak informed him, his tone solemn. Aoshi just gave him a suspicious look.

"Well at least not today!" he added mischievously and laughed merrily. Aoshi just rolled his eyes…

"I can't believe she's the one you told me about…" Tak walked over to Aoshi and stood next to him watching the boy closely. He was surprised by the seriousness in Tak's tone.

"Me too…and I saw it with my own eyes. I held her hand every day…" Aoshi replied softly but stopped the memory of Misao's shattered little body on that big white bed was too much for him. Guilt still weighed heavily on Aoshi's heart he had always blamed himself for not doing something to stop the abuse she lived in.

"Aoshi you can't continue to blame yourself for something you couldn't prevent. Do you think that someone mean and spiteful enough to beat a half-starved little girl nearly to death wouldn't have been able to do the same to her twelve-year old defender? Do you think he would have cared whose son you were?" Tak asked his tone grave. Aoshi stopped what he was doing and thought about it…

"No," he answered reluctantly. He realized that nobody would've believed him even if he'd said something and that he wouldn't have been able to defend Misao even if he'd been there instead they would've both ended up in the hospital or worse. Tak put a firm reassuring hand on Aoshi's shoulder.

"I can't imagine what it must've been like to watch her suffer but Aoshi she's already punished her father in the best way imaginable!" Tak affirmed.

"What do you mean?" Aoshi looked up in confusion.

"You see her father wanted to take out all his rage on her and destroy her innocent life but instead not only did she survive that vicious and unjust assault but she triumphed over it!" Tak turned Aoshi so the boy could face him his eyes alight with excitement.

"She defeated him and his hate by becoming the beautiful and vibrant young woman that bounced into my shop today filling it with her joy and laughter. She is charming, attractive and loved by all who know her and that utterly crushes every evil intention that man ever had towards her!" Tak paused for a moment to catch his breath.

"And I know you're thinking that all you could do was watch from the sidelines as she battled alone and you would be **_wrong_**! It was because of the faith and love of her friends, _especially you_, that gave her the strength to push on! And I say especially you because as I heard it, it was your friendship that motivated her to fully recover! Did you know that?" he asked and smiled happily as Aoshi shook his head.

"She was an abandoned little girl whom nobody cared for until you came along! You cared enough to beat up bullies, share your lunch and punish mediocre teachers! No one else had done that before! You changed her life and who knows you may have even saved it but that I can't tell for sure, well at least not yet. My point is you gave her hope when she needed it most and hope is a very powerful gift to give," Tak concluded smiling proudly giving Aoshi a pat on the shoulder before he returned to the counter to give Aoshi a few moments to assimilate this new information. He had never thought about it like that and it was suddenly a lot to take in.

"Now going back to Yusuke's question," Tak said in his trademark mischievous tone. Aoshi flinched realizing he should've known Tak wouldn't have left it alone. He opened his mouth for the automatic denial that sprung onto his tongue but Tak read his mind as usual.

"Relax! I know you well enough to know you wouldn't have tried anything at least not without a proper first date!" Tak pointed out mischievously as he handed Aoshi a feather duster so he could start on the shelves. Aoshi accepted it trying to hide the blush on his cheeks behind his long bangs as he turned and stalked to the other end of the shop stopping to check Yugi's progress on his puzzle.

"But you did do something you don't normally do so spill it!" Tak demanded eagerly.

"What! All I did was hug her! Told her I was glad she was ok! Nothing the others hadn't done! No big deal," he finally replied trying to sound non-chalant.

"Oh! Ho! Ho! Yes it is a big deal for Aoshi Shinomori who despises physical displays of affection!" Tak teased then threw his head back and laughed even Yugi stopped for a moment to giggle! Aoshi grumbled embarrassed at being teased but let it slide. Had it been anyone else teasing him that poor soul would've been promptly silenced by either his fist or an icy glare or **_both_** but he always made exception for Tak.

"But there's more isn't there…" Tak said tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"Let's see: you probably opened the car door, helped her in the car and closed the door behind her… What am I missing?" he asked pensively.

"I asked her not to call me Lord Aoshi…" he said softly not paying much attention to what he was dusting.

"And…" Tak prompted watching with amusement his unusually distracted apprentice dust the same shelf over and over again.

"And nothing! She said ok and I helped her strap on her seat belt and closed the door after her. That's all!" he responded distractedly moving on to another shelf.

"Why did you do that? Couldn't she strap her belt on her own?" Tak asked him slyly. Aoshi paused and looked at him in confusion. He wasn't quite sure why he'd done it. It was just an impulse he didn't even think about it! He frowned he rarely did anything without thinking and when he did it usually got him into loads of trouble.

"Tak, I don't know why I did it…Do you think I insulted her somehow? Do you think I should apologize?" he asked thoroughly concerned that he might have crossed some line that he wasn't aware of. Tak just laughed…

"_Relax!_ I'm sure that if you had insulted her she would've let you know right there and then! No I'm sure she was just as thrilled about it as you were!" Tak laughed again. Aoshi opened his mouth to argue but clamped it shut again. He realized with a shock that he _had_ gotten a thrill out of it! His heart raced again as he recalled her slender arms around his waist and how close his face had been to hers as he strapped on her seat belt. He always wondered how Tak was so good at extracting the truth out of him! Again he opened his mouth to defend himself…

"Aoshi, never lie to yourself about how you feel about something or someone… You can deny it with your mouth all you want; but never lie to yourself! It's the worst thing you could do to both yourself and the things and people you care about," Tak advised and his tone was soft and fatherly. Again Aoshi wished his father was more like Tak! Aoshi just gave him a small grateful smirk and thanked his lucky stars for bringing him a friend like Tak.

"Besides she is rather cute! So I can't say that I blame you for trying to get a little closer!" Tak interjected cheerfully and the sly wink he threw him effectively killed the solemn moment. Tak laughed as Aoshi's face turned an interesting shade of red. He was saved from further embarrassment as Yugi jumped up.

"I'm finished!" he yelled and Aoshi stopped his half-hearted attempt to dust the shelves to look at Yugi's work. He smiled at the little boy who proudly smiled back.

"Well done!" Aoshi said impressed. The recommended age for the puzzle was 12 and above and Yugi had completed it pretty much on his own since Anzu and the others had left almost as soon as they had started it. Yugi was unusually adept at puzzles! He ruffled little Yugi's hair and started back towards the neglected shelves. Tak instructed Aoshi to hurry so he could get to home with enough time to change before his dinner party.

"Gotta make sure you make a good impression on the family!" Tak teased and laughed as Aoshi blushed once again. He most definitely was enjoying the way Misao had affected his pupil! Aoshi was finally starting to act like a normal teenager and it made Tak very happy. At that moment the door bell chimed again and three men rushed into the shop. The last one in locked the door behind him, flipped over the Open/Closed sign to the"Closed" position and pulled down the shade. He stood watch at the door…

"Everyone keep still and no one gets hurt!" one man said. He was wearing sunglasses, a black beanie cap and a scarf that covered part of his face. The second one wore sunglasses and a black beanietoo but he had a weird creepy smile that made him think of Batman's nemesis: the Joker. The third he couldn't see his face because his back was turned away from him but he had spiky blond hair that was held up straight with a black head band. They all wore large green camouflage jackets too…

'No! This can't be happening!' his mind reeled as the two men pulled out their guns. Aoshi froze at first but the man with the crazy smile was standing right in front of Yugi and stared at him in a weird demented way. He just couldn't leave the little one to the mercies of those men! He tried to inch slowly towards Yugi but the second man leveled his gun at Aoshi's head. He stopped…

"Don't move Aoshi!" Tak commanded his voice filled with fear. It was disturbing to hear it…Tak was never afraid of anything! He cast a glance at Yugi but the little boy was standing very still and very quiet. He tried rather unsuccessfully to convince himself that these thieves wouldn't hurt a little five year old boy. He kept casting worried glances at Yugi as Tak told the thugs that he would cooperate but as long as they didn't hurt anyone. Tak quickly opened the small safe under the register and was instructed to step out from behind the counter. The man with the creepy smile was told to watch the shop owner while the other one hurried towards the safe.

"Never killed any kids before…wonder what that's like?" he said in a deep chilling tone definitely not like the Joker! He laughed in a deep creepy tone as Tak blanched! Aoshi knew right then and there that he most certainly was not going to allow this psycho to kill Yugi! He would do whatever it took!

"No…" Tak whispered fearfully but the psycho just laughed…

_Uhu-Hu-Hu-Hu…_

He leveled his gun at the little boy's chest. The first shot rang out like a canon blast but Aoshi was already in motion! With more power and speed than he ever imagined he possessed Aoshi dove towards Yugi. His arms wrapped around the small child and his forward momentum carried them both almost all the way out of the bullet's path. He winced in pain as the bullet meant for Yugi's chest ripped through his leg and he grunted as a second one ripped through his other leg and he landed painfully on his shoulder.

He held on tight to Yugi and turned to use his body as a shield to protect little Yugi. Pain coursed through his body and the world quickly began spinning but he held on tight to his little charge. He gently shushed little Yugi who had begun to whimper fearfully and the child responded immediately to Aoshi's reassurance. There was some shouting and one more shot rang out and Aoshi braced himself for more pain but sighed in relief when it didn't come. He heard a heavy thud on the floor and the door chimed again as the three thieves scrambled to get away from the shop before the police arrived. Tak had activated the silent alarm when he opened the safe!

"Tak…" Aoshi called out softly. He tried to lift his head but didn't get very far. The pain made the world spin around him threatening to send him to the oblivion of unconsciousness but valiantly he fought against it. The only thing that mattered to him was to make sure Tak and Yugi were safe; that they had made it through this ordeal. Little Yugi called for his father in a soft fearful whisper but no response came from either his or Aoshi's calls. Yugi wiggled out of Aoshi's hold.

"Daddy wake up! The bad men are gone now," little Yugi said softly. Gritting his teeth against the pain Aoshi dragged himself towards where Tak lay and where Yugi had curled up next to him. Tak's eyes were open and stared lifelessly at the ceiling. There was a small hole on his forehead from which a slim red line of blood flowed down his face. Blood pooled rapidly behind Tak's head and already Yugi's face and hair were covered in it. He sank back to the ground and sobbed quietly. His friend was gone; he had failed. That's all he could think of as he heard a car roar into the driveway and the phone began to ring. He allowed darkness to claim him.

* * *

Silence reigned among the three men sitting around the Go board. On the other side of the ballroom the party was still in full swing but for Hiei and Aoshi there was a moment of silence for the dear friend and mentor they'd lost in that senseless act of violence. Seto shook his head solemnly…

"I didn't know," Seto said softly. His security director had handed him a brief report about his rival when he was preparing the Death-T. There was a one liner in it that said Yugi's father had died during a robbery when Yugi was five years old but he had never actually stopped to think what that meant for his rival or how life-altering an incident it had been. As far as Seto knew Takeshi Mutou was just another crime statistic. He didn't _know_…

But slowly it all clicked now for him as Aoshi made his next move. Seto had always wondered why Yugi's grandfather was so important to him. He had always wondered why Yugi was so against confrontation and why people just threw them selves around him to protect him. Why the pharaoh was willing to kill to protect Yugi made perfect sense to him now. He looked up as the familiar (and most irritating) voice of the head cheerleader approached. He tensed (as he usually did!) when he saw his rival walking towards them. He motioned for Aoshi to look up. The man did and his eyes widened in surprise…

"Hey Aoshi!" Yugi called out cheerfully. Aoshi stood and smiled so did Hiei and both men approached him. Seto followed suit and solemnly greeted Yugi as was his custom. Yugi returned Seto's tense greeting with a cheerful "Hi Seto!" and Hiei and Aoshi exchanged amused glances. Tak had been just like that! Whether someone liked him or not he would greet them cheerfully. That little quirk had worn down both Hiei's and Aoshi's defensive walls. It seemed Yugi had inherited not only his father's looks but his personality quirks too. Anzu wordlessly understanding the importance of this reunion gave Yugi a quick kiss in the cheek and excused herself.

"Hello Yugi," Aoshi greeted wistfully and before he realized what he was doing his hand reached out to ruffle the teenager's hair. Yugi laughed…

"You're just as big as I remember you!" Yugi pointed out cheerfully.

"You're not as short as I remember you!" Aoshi rejoined. Yugi laughed cheerfully as Hiei imitated Aoshi's gesture and ruffled his hair too.

"You guys haven't changed at all!" he laughed but both men merely responded with a sad little smile.

"Sure we have," Aoshi replied softly with a touch of regret in his voice. Yugi looked up at him seriously and in his young eyes Aoshi saw a maturity and understanding that was beyond his years. But what surprised Aoshi was the unspoken gratitude in the young man's eyes!

"So what are you guys up to!" Yugi asked smiling again and looking toward the table all three were sitting around just a minute ago. His eyes lit up!

"Anzu said you were playing Go…but I thought you didn't play anymore!" Yugi exclaimed as he cheerfully made his way to the board. He noted that black was in trouble…

"No kidding…" Aoshi replied ruefully as he made his way back to his seat. He was down by four points and though he was holding off Seto's advance it still wasn't enough to either gain him any ground on the board or much less pull off a win. He explained as much to Yugi…

"Still, not bad since you haven't played in ten years! Hey Seto…I didn't know you played Go! I thought you only played modern games!" he asked as he turned a puzzled look on Seto. Seto rolled his eyes…

"Of course I play Go! You can't be a game master and not be able to play _all_ the classical games as well as the modern ones! Besides I passed the "Pro" Test when I was thirteen!" he retorted annoyed and rolled his eyes again as he retook his seat and studied the board once more. Hiei and Aoshi exchanged amused glances as they watched the two teenagers interact.

"Wow! Really Seto! I didn't know that! I've never taken any of the tests even though Grandpa says I play at 3 Dan level…" Yugi rambled on how his Grandfather was constantly trying to get him into the Go circuit but that he refused because he liked to play for fun and Go seemed too serious! It was just the sort of thing his father would've said because according to Tak games were just fun ways of getting to know someone! It seemed Yugi lived by that simple mantra and obviously it irked Seto to no end!

To Aoshi Seto's irritation made perfect sense after all Seto made a living off of his status as a Game Master and the reputation of his company sometimes depended on that. Being defeated _twice_ by Yugi at his favorite game had to sting even worse was the fact that Yugi spouted things like 'Games are for having fun and making friends'! Seto was just as ambitious and ruthless as he had been and it probably made him angry that Yugi had such an easy going outlook on life and always managed to win! But he did notice that Seto was holding back rather than unleash the challenge that Aoshi knew was on the tip of his tongue he instead concentrated on _their_ game. This was indeed a very good sign…

'I better change the subject,' Aoshi thought but Hiei had also come to a similar conclusion as Aoshi and beat him to it by asking Yugi about his hair!

"You know it's funny but it grows like that!" Yugi replied with a smile reaching up to touch his spiky tri-colored hair "ever since that day…" he trailed off a pained look on his young face. On the day his father died Yugi's hair had been soaked with his father's blood his mother had tried to wash it off but it would not come out. Panicked by the blood red color of his bangs that no amount of shampoo would take out she had bleached them but that however didn't seem to work all that well! In the end she had cut off all his hair but when it grew back it grew in Yugi's trademark red-tipped spikes and blonde bangs. It was quite the mystery…

"You know we were just telling Seto about our days at the shop," Aoshi stated changing the subject again slightly. Yugi's eyes lit again and he smiled…

"I don't remember much but I do recall being spun in the air a lot!" he laughed. Aoshi just smiled and nodded. From the corner of his eye he could see Seto looking up from the board and listening intently again.

"Hey thanks for all the presents and letters! My mom always looks forward to hearing from you! And Grandpa just loves it when Vicky-sensei stops by!" Yugi informed him and again Aoshi marveled at how much like Tak he was!

"I know you're really busy and all but if you ever get a chance you know you're welcome at the Game Shop any time you want to stop by!" Yugi invited seriously and told him how all the others stopped by every now and then even Shuura who was always on the go seemed to have time to occasionally stop and say hi and according to Yugi she was one of Grandpa Mutou's favorite visitors.

"I was thinking of stopping by the shop this weekend," Aoshi intoned seriously.

"Mom will be so happy! She was really happy to see Sano and Kenshin today too they helped get me off work so I could come to the party! It would be so great if you could stop by!" Yugi cheered and Aoshi knew that there was nothing that would keep him away form the game shop tomorrow.

"I'll talk to Misao but we should be able to come by tomorrow afternoon," Aoshi added seriously. Yugi's eyes lit up with joy but before he could say anything he was pulled into a playful headlock by Sano as he came up behind him.

"What are you doing over here with the anti-socials!" Sano asked Yugi as he fiercely ruffled his hair. Yugi just laughed…

"Came to say hi to them!" he happily explained as Sano released him. Kenshin laughed as he joined them and he too ruffled Yugi's hair…

"Sensei would probably advise you to return to the regular partygoers at once, that she would!" he added. Aoshi narrowed his eyes and exchanged a suspicious glance with Hiei.

"Yeah, 'cause that Broody Boy Disease is contagious you know! Stick around them too long and you'll catch it!" Sano teased. Aoshi just rolled his eyes his friends would never stop teasing him about how serious he is.

"Yes! And there are three with this disease at this corner, that there are!" Kenshin added playing along. Sano suddenly shivered…

"Is it me or did the room just get colder?" Sano asked suddenly.

"Naw! It's just them glaring at us!" Yugi replied jumping into the banter by pointing a thumb at Aoshi, Seto and Hiei who were indeed glaring in annoyance at the three. Kenshin, Sano and Yugi laughed…

"All right go on back to the party! Anzu's driving me nuts already! Oh and by the way make sure you keep you're hands where I can seem 'em mister!" Sano warned sternly. Aoshi didn't bother ask what that was about! It was very likely that Yugi was the teenager involved in the "teenage romance angst" that Sano had mentioned earlier. He and Kenshin must've cleared things up for the little couple and now Yugi and Anzu are an item. Yugi just smiled up at him…

"Yes sir!" he replied cheerfully with a jaunty salute.

"So I'll catch you guys later ok!" Yugi added cheerfully as Hiei and Aoshi merely nodded their response. Yugi cheerfully skipped away to join the main party…

* * *

Ok let me clarify that at the point when Tak is shot Aoshi has not yet received any formal martial arts training! Thus a couple of gunshots aren't something he's strong enough to deal with! So that's why he seems a bit weaker than we all know Aoshi is! Don't worry the worst is yet to come! Wait…did I say worst? Yeah I meant worst! Ok bye now! 

Thank you for reading and reviewing!


	6. Once you start down the dark path

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu-Yu Hakusho, Hikaru no Go, Star Wars, etc… I'm not making any money here! Of course if I were George I'm sure I'd find a way!

* * *

**To be the Strongest**

* * *

**Chapter 5: "Once you start down the dark path…"** **– Master Yoda to Luke (Empire Strikes Back)**

"So I'll catch you guys later ok!" Yugi added cheerfully as Hiei and Aoshi merely nodded their response. Yugi cheerfully skipped away to join the main party…

Aoshi formally introduced his two best friends to Seto as Sano and Kenshin approached the table. Seto got up briefly to shake their hands…

"Don't tell me you're playing black Aoshi!" Sano asked as he and Kenshin examined the board. Kenshin frowned and he too pointed out that black was in trouble.

"All right I won't," Aoshi replied as he retook his seat. Kenshin laughed and Sano shook his head.

"You suck!" he pointed out succinctly and Kenshin guffawed.

"Thank you Sanosuke for that brilliantly eloquent assessment," Aoshi retorted sarcastically. Hiei just shook his head and Seto laughed suddenly the attention turned to him.

"This is a nice house you have Mr. Seto! Thank you for inviting us!" Kenshin said politely smiling cheerfully at him.

"You know you're ability to just be polite no matter what never ceases to amaze me!" Sano retorted derisively rolling his eyes.

"Have you forgotten what a ruthless _psycho_ this kid is?" he added annoyed pointing a thumb at Seto. Seto's eyes turned back to the board only a tiny blush gave away his embarrassment. He had spent thousands of dollars on building the Death-T and all to have every challenge beaten by the monkey, the mutt and the cheerleader! It really was embarrassing considering the company he was in…

"No, indeed I have not! But Aoshi and Hiei seem to have approved of Mr. Seto! And since they are just as much of a ruthless psycho as he and happen to be our friends then it's all right, that it is!" Kenshin countered cheerfully. Sano moved up next to Seto and leaning against the back of his chair he tapped his chin thoughtfully. The boy frowned and glared at Sano who pointedly ignored him.

"Well since you put it that way…I suppose no harm was done since they did manage to beat _every single challenge_!" Sano conceded in his usual smartass tone and ignored the soft growl that escaped Seto's throat. Aoshi and Hiei just rolled their eyes they were used to their friends picking on them for being so ruthless but it didn't affect _them_ anymore.

"He's just trying to provoke you…don't give him the satisfaction," Hiei advised coolly. Aoshi nodded…

"It's his favorite pastime to try and get reactions out of us," he added solemnly and Seto nodded his understanding schooling his features back to their usual intense stoic-ness.

"That's easy for you to say! You didn't have a little sister dodging blocks the size of small boulders! Not to mention the thugs Darth Kaiba here hired to hold guns to her head!" Sano retorted glaring at Seto. The boy turned away suddenly overwhelmed by embarrassment. Aoshi pondered that for a moment as he watched Seto.

He knew all about the Death-T incident because Sensei had been monitoring the situation closely had Anzu and the others with her needed rescue she would've jumped in immediately. The past is the past you can't change it but you can learn from it. At least that was what Sensei always said.

"Sano, as I am sure you recall I lost myself to my demon too. I did things that I am not proud of but I also learned from my mistakes…" Aoshi began but Sano cut him off.

"Yeah! Yeah! I know that! Sheesh! Now you sound just like Sensei!" he rejoined going back to his usual smartass yet cheerful tone. Aoshi allowed himself a small smirk of triumph. Sensei was one person he didn't mind being compared to!

"Relax! I'm just messin' with ya!" Sano informed Seto punching him playfully in the arm. Seto rubbed his arm and growled annoyed but let it go without retaliation. He wanted to hear the rest of the story and stomping away in a huff or sending someone to the shadow realm wasn't going to get him any details on Aoshi Shinomori. Besides, from an older brother point of view he could understand! Had it been Mokuba in that position he would've done a whole lot more than just a playful punch in the arm.

'I wonder if it's just because of Aoshi and Hiei that he's going easy on me!' he thought at the same time wondering if it had to do instead with something Yugi might have said to him. Briefly he contemplated finding the answer with the millennium rod but immediately dismissed the idea. He was starting to get the feeling that attempting to use the mind control powers of the Millennium Rod would be difficult if not useless with any of these men.

It suited him fine though he was tired of dealing only with idiotic monkey brained teenagers or hired "yes-men" he was starting to feel the world was full of nothing **_but_** that type of people! He was glad to know he wasn't alone in the world! Besides, with that "playful" punch Sano had surreptitiously reminded Seto that he was a world-class fighting champion not a street fighting alley cat like Katsuya and Honda. He didn't doubt that there would be a bruise on his arm tomorrow morning!

"Welcome to our Sith-hood Seto…" Aoshi remarked coolly and they all broke into laughter. "Just so you know it is a select society. Sano doesn't bestow a "Darth" title on just anyone," he added seriously. Seto nodded solemnly as Kenshin and Sano continued to laugh their heads off! He made a note to let his little brother know later the new title he had acquired. He was certain his little brother, an avid Darth Vader fan, would surely appreciate it!

"Aoshi was just telling Seto about what happened to Tak," Hiei suddenly jumped in putting a damper on the almost cheerful mood.

"You mean you didn't know?" Sano exclaimed in confusion. He, just like Aoshi, thought that Seto would know everything about his arch-rival. Seto rolled his eyes but to Aoshi's surprise he managed to suppress his usual biting tone.

"I knew he had been shot during a robbery I just didn't know the details!" Seto replied with only a touch of exasperation. Sano answered with merely a soft "oh". Seto was amazed at the change in every man. Their moods darkened instantly; their voices became soft and wistful and their eyes took on far away looks…

"The next few weeks were hard, that they were…" Kenshin began wistfully.

"Yeah…Aoshi was in the hospital for days…" Sano added his mind turning back the hands of time as he looked away.

"Even after I got out of the hospital I couldn't go back to the Game Shop…All I could think of was that I was too weak to protect someone I cared about…I couldn't face Kiki or Yugi for a long time…" Aoshi added hesitantly.

"I was consumed by grief…I could only think about what I couldn't do rather than what I _had_ done. The reckless headlong flight to vengeance I embarked on took away everything I cared about and it took me years to get even some of it back…" he explained bitterly. Sano moved forward and picked up one of Seto's white stones from his bowl and chucked it at Aoshi's head. Faster than Seto thought possible Aoshi's hand shot up to snatch the small stone and replace it in Seto's bowl.

"Moron! You never lost your friends!" he retorted in a mock-derisive tone as he smirked at Aoshi.

"If Sensei were here she would whack on the back of your head that she would!" Kenshin added cheerfully. Aoshi chuckled and nodded…

"Ok well I've had enough of hangin' with the Darths! It's messing with my Jedi-ness…" Sano declared jauntily and Aoshi just shook his head as Sano shot a cheerful 'Catch ya later!' over his shoulder as he walked away. Seto gave him a confused look.

"I will go join the others thank you again for having us over Mr. Seto!" Kenshin added cheerfully as he too walked away. Seto nodded towards Kenshin then turned to Aoshi that confused look still in his eyes.

"Sano, Kenshin and Shuura were Jedi extras in the last Star Wars movie," Aoshi explained at Seto's confused expression. Seto's eyes went wide with surprise.

"Are you a fan?" Hiei asked. Seto shrugged…

"I like it but Mokuba is the real fan!" he replied "he's been bugging me to get rights from Lucas Arts to do some of the new video games but I've been preoccupied elsewhere…" he explained. The fiasco of Battle City was still a touchy issue with him and he was reluctant to broach the subject. He wondered now if he should've spent most of that time and money getting Mokuba his wish. It would've been far less embarrassing perhaps…

"I'll have to tell Mokuba…" he said softly then asked "how come you weren't in it?"

"Oh we were! I was a ruffian in a bar the main characters stormed," Hiei answered "I refuse to be a Jedi! Its bad for my Darth rep…" he added calmly and Aoshi and Seto chuckled.

"I was one the chancellor's royal guard being Jedi doesn't suit me either. I'm supposed to be in the last one too I get to wear the red uniform this time," Aoshi put in then his face screwed up in distaste "but I'm going to get smashed against a wall by Master Yoda" he added ruefully and shrugged. Hiei and Seto laughed.

Seto nodded a small smile appearing suddenly on his lips before it was replaced by a preoccupied expression as though he were wrestling with a decision that was extremely difficult. His young face settled back into its usual intense stoic-ness as he again settled his eyes on the board. Hiei and Aoshi exchanged a worried glance.

"Hiei I thought you hated Star Wars…what made you change your mind?" Seto asked suddenly.

"Sensei," he answered simply but at a signal from Aoshi he decided to elaborate.

"As you know my father and I hated each other but one day while I was still in high school things got out of hand when he guessed – rather correctly – what I am even though I denied it for years. He kicked me out of the house supposedly to make a "man" out of me. Sensei took me in, trained me and helped me become strong. She taught me to see people for who they are and not for what they are. But most of all she taught me to accept my self. So when I finally met Mr. Lucas I couldn't really hate him or his work…" Hiei paused; Seto had I confused look on his face.

"I don't understand …" Seto began; Hiei just smiled.

"I'm gay…" he replied simply. Seto blinked a bit surprised he hadn't expected that at all!

"My father is a violent homophobe and because of that I denied that I was gay for years in fact if it hadn't been for Kurama and Sensei I would probably still deny it," he explained. Seto again blinked surprised. This new development took him completely by surprise. Still he was beginning to see a pattern here the power he sensed from Hiei didn't diminish by his admissions at all in fact it seemed to increase for a moment the way that Aoshi's power had spiked when Misao had come to kiss him. And it all connected somehow to this mysterious teacher of theirs.

"I'm curious to meet this Sensei you guys keep talking about!" he suddenly declared sounding a bit more enthusiastic then he intended. Hiei and Aoshi exchanged a confused glance. This was not the reaction they had expected.

"Seto are you…" Aoshi began but Seto cut him off.

"Honestly…I have no idea! Gozaburo's tutelage drove everything human from me. Gozaburo used to say that winning is life and losing is death but I'm not so sure anymore… Even so I can't think of anything except Kaiba Corp and winning. My assistants – whether male or female – don't last more than a few weeks and I can hardly stand having anyone around me. I'm just now remembering what it means to be a good brother. I couldn't even begin to know anything beyond that!" Desperation, resentment and anger twisted Seto's face.

Hiei and Aoshi looked at each other alarmed! On the one hand it was good that Seto was opening up to them but on the other hand it was disturbing to hear so much bitterness from someone so young. Worse was the fact that he dealt with this distress and confusion on his own where in their case they'd had Sensei to guide them through their more turbulent days. Aoshi knew that the sense of honor and pride that Sensei had instilled in them would not allow them to leave Seto to bear his burden alone any longer.

"This is actually the first time I've sat and talked to someone other than Mokuba without feeling the need to challenge or insult somebody…or both!" Seto added in a soft bitter tone.

"We are glad for that at least…Do not rush yourself Seto, in time the answers you seek will come," Aoshi advised solemnly. Seto nodded slowly as the anger in his eyes receded. Hiei nodded in agreement and put in his two cents then…

"As for meeting Sensei, she will be here later. She has been looking rather bored lately and will probably jump at the chance to train someone in staff weapons," Hiei added seriously. Seto's eyes lit up at the prospect of training in the same manner these men had after all power is what every ruthless "Darth" wants! And Seto was willing to do anything to obtain it!

He appreciated too the fact that neither man had felt the need to lecture about friendship or some other ridiculous notion of team work. Both were concepts that Seto couldn't stomach because he wanted to do things for himself. Both Hiei and Aoshi seem to realize this and expected Seto to find his own way while subtly offering their support should he wish it. His respect for them went up another notch…

"For now let us continue with our game and if you are still interested I will tell you more," Aoshi invited as he picked up a stone and waited for Seto to make his move. Seto picked up a stone and made his next move.

"Please continue…" he replied seriously. Aoshi nodded took a deep breath and picked up where he had left off.

"As I said I was consumed by grief. I couldn't go back to the Game Shop and Kiki I suppose understood my pain and didn't force me in any way. Yugi's grandfather returned from an excavation project in Egypt that he was participating in days after Tak's death and took charge of the shop but I didn't learn of any of this until weeks later at the opening of the Aoiya." He explained.

"You still went?" Seto asked surprised.

"Of course," Hiei replied for him "we promised Tak that we would!" he declared proudly. Aoshi nodded in solemn agreement.

"Besides it was something that was important to Misao and for her I have always been willing to do anything…" Aoshi added softly his eyes drifted momentarily in the direction her and Mokuba had gone. Hiei nodded in agreement Aoshi's closest friends all knew very well the lengths Aoshi was willing to go for his beloved Misao.

"So you all went to the Aoiya's opening…" Seto prompted softly unable to contain his curiosity.

"Right…" Aoshi confirmed his mind returning to that time…

* * *

The Aoiya is a beautiful and elegant old fashioned Japanese restaurant of which currently there were five. The original one is located in Kyoto, one in Tokyo, one in Domino and two in the USA. One of those was in Hawaii located on the island of Oahu and the other in Los Angeles specifically in Beverly Hills. A sixth one was being constructed in New York with Victoria as a partner in the venture. Misao had explained all of this to Aoshi when she insisted that he come to the opening of the Domino location so Aoshi had reluctantly agreed to come despite the fact that he didn't feel in a festive mood.

Music drifted towards the parking lot as Aoshi and his father stepped out of the limo. Quietly he followed his father towards the entrance of the restaurant. He spotted Misao waiting for them and instantly began to feel better about being there. She smiled cheerfully at them and waved. He called out his greeting towards her as they got near and watched in utter shock as his father smiled at her and picked her up in one big fatherly hug. He still couldn't get used to how his old man transformed in her presence.

"I'm so glad you guys could make it!" she declared happily as Hannya Shinomori released her. She took Aoshi's hand and led the two Shinomori men into the restaurant. Hannya smirked happily as he noticed the little blush that rose in his son's cheeks as little Misao held his hand. The boy looked away embarrassed but to Hannya's endless delight he did not let go!

He suppressed a smile as he heard his son somewhat clumsily attempt to compliment Misao on how nice she looked in her pretty light green kimono. But he saw out of the corner of his eye the blush on the girl's cheeks as she shyly thanked him. He pretended to ignore the little couple as he spotted Okina standing at the door. He greeted his friend and the two made a fairly good attempt at ignoring the young couple – though they secretly delighted in their closeness – as they headed inside.

"Everyone's here!" she informed him cheerfully as they entered the noisy restaurant. In the weeks since Tak's death Misao and Aoshi had reverted back to their old ways. They talked about nearly everything and rarely did anything separately. Except for school because Misao was still in middle school and wouldn't start high school until after summer. Again Aoshi regretted that they would only get one year of school together before they were separated again. He worried too that he only had one more year of school left and he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life.

The only thing he knew for sure was that he wanted to avenge Tak's death but he didn't know how to go about it. It was one subject he couldn't raise to Misao but one that was always on his mind…

Misao walked him towards the table where most of his friends were already seated. He quietly took his seat and was immediately assaulted by Shuura who thrust her fists happily in front of his face!

"Look what Vicky-sensei gave me!" she exclaimed happily. Two leather bands with shiny silver spikes were gleefully exhibited to Aoshi as he tried to push her fists away from his face. Her original spike band she had given to little Yugi on the day of his father's funeral because it was the only thing that seemed to snap the little boy out of the near catatonic state he'd fallen into after his father's death. Shuura had eagerly given up her treasured band as long as it could make the child smile and Victoria had given Shuura her bands in reward for her kindness.

Aoshi learned of these things much later from Misao. What happened after Tak's death was still a blur and he had spent much of his time at the funeral practically draped over Tak's coffin unable to be consoled by anyone…even Misao! He shook his head as Shuura showed him the choker that went along with it and wondered aloud whether you could wear leather spike bands with elegant kimonos.

Shuura gleefully answered that of course she could and the others just laughed with the exception of Kaoru who kept trying to get her to take them off. Misao didn't let him stay long with them though. His uncles Shikijo, Hyotoko and Bessimi had arrived at the Aoiya too and his father wanted him to greet them. He didn't mind because he really liked his uncles and his father was always nicer while in the company of Aoshi's mother's older brothers. He went to say hi to his uncles who for some reason decided not to tease him. His uncles always teased him about something! It was their favorite pastime and lately they teased him about his friendship with Misao.

But it didn't take long for him to figure out why. Vicky-sensei was there and she was wearing a simple black strapless sheath dress with a side slit that went all the way to the top of her leg. A very dainty diamond pendant and matching earrings and bracelet were the only accessories he could see. Despite the fact that she was probably old enough to be his mother he could easily see her super model past! They were so distracted by her and the other two beautiful women with her that they almost forgot he was there! Except for his father who seemed to be the only male adult in the restaurant immune to Vicky-sensei's charms.

'Perhaps I can use that against them next time!' he thought mischievously as Misao pulled him away again and Vicky-sensei instructed her to send Shuura to her as soon as she saw her. Kiki arrived then with Suguroko Motou – her father in law – and immediately Yugi rushed up and threw himself on Aoshi. Instinctively Aoshi caught the little boy and tossed him lightly in the air. He approached the adults shyly though. Kiki smiled…

"Aoshi how are you feeling…" she smiled serenely at him but Aoshi could easily see that the carefree light of her eyes was gone. He just shrugged as he put the little one back down on the ground and riffled his hair affectionately feeling suddenly that he couldn't look her in the face. He stood and as he did she cupped her hand under his chin and pulled his face up to look at her.

"I didn't get a chance to thank you Aoshi…" she began softly.

"For what! I couldn't do anything!" he cut her off desperation and anger raging in his heart.

"Nonsense young man! You saved my grandson's life! You should be proud of yourself! I'm sure my son would be! And so are we!" Suguroko intoned gravely giving Aoshi a proud pat on the shoulder. Kiki gave him a hug and Aoshi was surprised when his father stood up from the table to greet Kiki and her father in law warmly and invite them to his table. He was utterly shocked when his old man reached down to pick up little Yugi and offer to take him to the play area with the other children. Little Yugi for his part didn't seem at all intimidated by his old man…

"Bye mommy! I'm going to see Anzu with big Aoshi!" Yugi called out as Hannya carried him away. He heard his father laugh…

"Uh…Big Aoshi?" Aoshi watched his father walk away a look of utter confusion in his face. Kiki and Misao laughed…

"You guys look almost exactly alike! Yugi has been calling Lord Hannya that since he met him!" Misao explained cheerfully as she pulled him away and laughed at the serious look Aoshi gave her in response. Kiki and her father in law joined the other adults at the table and Vicky-sensei took over the introductions as the two youngsters walked away.

Aoshi rejoined his friends and listened as Misao and everyone else chatted amicably occasionally joining into the conversation. Shuura disappeared with Vicky-sensei for a few minutes but when she returned she shocked everyone speechless. Vicky-sensei apparently agreed with Kaoru that black spiky accessories didn't go well with a kimono so she attired the girl to match her accessories.

"She gets weirder and weirder everyday," Aoshi whispered softly into Misao's ear. The girl blushed and barely managed a shy 'uhu' as Aoshi's physical closeness caused her to stopped breathing for a moment. Shuura returned wearing a pair of tight black leather pants, a strapless top and matching short black leather jacket topping it all off with a black leather belt with silver studs. Vicky-sensei even went so far as to style Shuura's hair – which she had been growing out since Tak died – in a more modern feminine look.

"Shuura! What in the world are you wearing!" Kaoru nearly shrieked. Her face was as white as a sheet! Shuura just rolled her eyes…

"Vicky-sensei says your accessories have to match your clothes! And before you pass out Mom said it was cool and so did Kiki!" she explained sticking her tongue out at her in a most unladylike way.

"Well not bad Shuura! You actually look like a girl now!" Sano pointed out and smirked in his usual smartass way. She removed her jacket to her sister's further discomfiture and sat down. She happily explained that the pants weren't really leather but a new material used by Vicky-sensei's company. It looked like leather but stretched, breathed and was as strong as denim! Aoshi just shrugged, he didn't really care about fabrics or fashion… until Misao mentioned she had a similar outfit! He froze…

"You do?" he asked softly suddenly curious to see what it looked like on her. Misao blushed slightly and picked up her tea cup.

"Yeah…minus the spikes though! But I don't like to wear it!" she replied shyly and sipped at her tea. Aoshi frowned…

"Why not?" he asked disappointed 'she'd probably look cute in it!' he thought and stopped that train of thought dead in its track! He knew it was leading somewhere that he wasn't supposed to go. Misao was his friend! Nothing more…right?

"I don't like the way people stare at me when I do!" she answered still not looking at him. He nodded but before he could respond Kaoru put in her sanctimonious two cents…

"That's right because it's completely indecent!" Kaoru stammered red faced but before Shuura could rise to defend herself it was Sano who spoke up.

"Don't be ridiculous Kaoru! It's not like she's walking around in her underwear! Besides didn't your mother say it was fine and as long as Shuura likes it …who cares what we think," he lectured sounding more than a bit annoyed. Shuura blinked in surprise she hadn't expected so much logic out of the rooster head. Neither did Kaoru it seemed because she opened and closed her mouth as though she were trying to find some way to counter Sano's flawless logic.

"Ms. Kaoru I agree with Sano! I think that attire suits Ms. Shuura very nicely just like I think this lovely kimono suits you perfectly!" Kenshin added then blushed as red as his hair when Kaoru smiled at him. Shuura just rolled her eyes…

"Anyway! I'm not wearing this for any of you punks' approval! I'm wearin' it because I like it!" Shuura concluded firmly. Sano wholeheartedly agreed and reached across the table to high-five her. Shuura smiled and responded earning herself similar high fives from Hiei and Kurama.

"Now you're a cool-looking bad ass chick!" Sano laughed and so did Shuura!

"Mission accomplished!" the two laughed and were soon joined by Hiei and Kurama.

"I told you she's weird," Aoshi whispered in Misao's ear again. Yusuke, Keiko and Kazuma arrived and Aoshi missed the deep scarlet blush in Misao's cheeks from his closeness as he greeted his friends. Keiko complimented Shuura on her new outfit which apparently surprised Kaoru who fully expected to get moral back up from her! Kazuma and Yusuke also expressed similar sentiments to Sano's and Shuura smiled happily. They spent the rest of the evening in happy company gathering later in the main room of the Aoiya as the patrons assembled for karaoke time!

Vicky-sensei and her two companions a Japanese super model by the name of Okon and her sister a famous chef called Omasu brought down the house with their version of "Killing me Softly" by the Fugees. Grandpa Motou looked like he was gonna pass out and every male over the age of twenty – and even some under that! – was drooling! Yusuke, Kazuma, Hiei and Kurama did a fair job with "Ghostbusters" that earned them much laughter and applause from the crowd. Misao got up and did a song from Cinderella called "A dream is wish" and she blushed fiercely at Aoshi's enthusiastic compliments.

Sano got up and did a stirring version of "Authority song" by John Mellencamp that earned him many a phone number from some of the teenage girls in the audience. Even Shuura didn't escape her turn when the guys dared her to get up on stage and strut her stuff! She ended up doing an awesome interpretation of "I love Rock and Roll!" by Joan Jett. The ensuing cat calls and wolfish howls of appreciation however displeased Shuura's father greatly!

"Why don't you try?" Misao asked Aoshi as Keiko's version "Once upon a dream" played. He shook his head and shyly refused. It was fine when they were little and it was just the two of them playing karaoke in his room but in front of all these people…No way! Kenshin got up with Kaoru and did a very cute duet of "A Whole New World". Misao begged and pleaded insisting that he was really good at it!

After much poking and prodding from Misao and his friends he finally relented. Misao punched in the number for "Elevation" by U2 and clapped enthusiastically to encourage him as he reluctantly stepped up to the stage. He stood with the microphone near his lips and his eyes glued to the screen where the lyrics would appear. He knew the lyrics to this song by heart but he was much too nervous to look anywhere else. The music began and he just didn't think about it anymore and let the music carry him away…

Hannya had not been paying much attention to the goings on when karaoke began and when his "brothers" had tried to talk him into participating he had flatly refused. He clapped when one of the children went up to sing regardless of whether they did well or not especially when Misao was up. However, when the familiar voice of his son blared out of the speakers his head snapped up in flash!

Aoshi quickly got into his song and Hannya could scarcely believe his ears…much less his _eyes_! Tapping his heel in time with the music and swaying his hips he had every girl in the room spellbound! His jaw dropped…

"He didn't get that from you… did he?" Victoria teased. Hannya shook his head slightly unable to take his eyes off the stage where his son was still in command. He was glad now that he'd allowed Aoshi to not only keep his long hair but to wear his relaxed fit jeans today with the button up white shirt instead of the slacks. The boy had discarded his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves which Hannya admitted with pride was definitely a good fashion choice for him!

'My kid looks good!' he thought a mixture of amusement and pride making him smile. His wife had been a beautiful woman full of music and dance. She had once been a successful theater actress with a promising future. A future cut short in a terrible car accident only two years after Aoshi was born. Her death had left a void so deep within him that he had been mired in darkness and he had missed most of Aoshi's childhood because of it.

The frightening encounter with those thieves at the game shop had awakened Hannya to the errors of his past. The very real possibility of losing Aoshi forever had shaken Hannya to the core. Very slowly now he was making efforts to win back his son. Misao had become an important bridge in the gap between him and his son and it was one of the many reasons why he loved the little girl so much! As Aoshi strut his stuff on stage he realized with regret that his wife hadn't really left him. A part of her was still here in Aoshi…

He looked towards his brothers and realized they were on their feet dancing and cheering wildly. He noticed then that he too was on his feet but he couldn't remember when that had happened! He laughed as his son's performance reached its climax and everyone was cheering wildly for him too. Everyone at his table was standing and clapping as Aoshi finished his performance. Hannya smiled his son was blushing as he shyly retreated from the stage. He laughed as Misao rescued him from a gaggle of girls that had materialized around him. He sat down again feeling so content he couldn't help the smile that remained on his usually stoic face the rest of the night…

* * *

"Wait a minute! _You_ two did karaoke?" Seto asked incredulous looking at them with a mild mixture of horror and shock. Hiei chuckled slightly…

"We still do sometimes when Sensei is in a particularly sadistic mood!" Hiei added and laughed at Seto's horrified expression. Aoshi chuckled but his smile faded quickly. He was stalling! He lingered on those happy days because he was reluctant to delve into the painful events that unfolded a few days later. He had only told this story once and only to Misao. Despite the years that had passed it had still been excruciatingly difficult to tell it. His closest friends knew because they had seen the aftermath when they arrived along with Sensei or as was the case with Sano and Kenshin… had been there and suffered with him.

"It's not as bad as it sounds. In retrospect I believe that every unusual thing Sensei made us do was an effort to keep us human. Well at least those of us who chose to become demons," Aoshi explained. Hiei leveled Aoshi with a deeply solemn look and some unspoken question seemed to pass between them.

Seto was rather perturbed by the sudden power spike that triggered his rarely used millennium powers. It seemed as though the two were joined by some brief but powerful and dark psychic bond that Seto had no chance to completely understand because it was gone almost as soon as it arrived.

"Are you sure?" Hiei asked in a deep and serious tone. Aoshi nodded…

"I feel he needs to know…" Aoshi explained convinced somehow that if anything could win Seto's trust in them it would be this: The incident at the abandoned warehouse…


	7. Forever will it dominate your destiny

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu-Yu Hakusho, Hikaru no Go.

**Warning:** This chapter contains violence and rape themes. If you are not able to stomach either please READ NO FURTHER! As was made clear in the earlier chapters Aoshi has a happy ending so there is no need for you to continue reading.

Cast at Kaiba estate:

**Aoshi's friends: Seto's "friends": **

Misao Makimachi Mokuba Kaiba

Shuura Kamiya Mai Kujacu

Kaoru Kamiya Jounouchi Katsuya

Kenshin Himura Tomoya Hanasaki

Kurama Himura Hiroto Honda

Sanosuke Sagara Yugi Motou

Hiei Mozuko Anzu Mazaki

Yukina Mozuko Ryu Bakura

Yusuke Urameshi

Kazuma Kuwabara

Keiko Yukimura

Victoria Stillwater

…and special guest stars: The Fab Five! Thom, Kyan, Ted, Jai and of course Carson!

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* * *

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**To be the Strongest**

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* * *

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**Chapter 6: "…forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will as it did Obi-wan's apprentice!"** **– Master Yoda to Luke (Empire Strikes Back)**

"I feel he needs to know…" Aoshi explained convinced somehow that if anything could win Seto's trust in them it would be this: The incident at the abandoned warehouse…

Seto looked from one man to the next wondering what the hell kind of deep dark secret Aoshi was going to tell him. As if to emphasize the importance of this next chapter Aoshi placed his next stone on the board and instantly closed the gap in points between them. Seto's five point lead suddenly went down to two! Seto blinked in surprise he hadn't seen that coming…

"Ok…I'm listening…" Seto replied softly as he leaned forward intrigued. Aoshi nodded solemnly, took a deep breath and continued.

* * *

The next few days Aoshi found himself spending most of his time at Misao's house. Her uncle knew to expect him nearly everyday after school and his father didn't bother to ask where he was going. He would simply say: "Call me when you get there!" In fact his father had been acting strange since the opening of the Aoiya. One night after coming back from Misao's house he had invited Aoshi to his home office and showed him an album filled with pictures of his mother that Aoshi had never seen before and willingly answered any question that the pictures brought to mind.

On another night he'd come home to find his father setting up an old fashioned projector. He had sat down to watch himself as a very small baby in his mother's arms while she smiled and sang for him. It was disconcerting to say the least! Father had never spoken of his mother other than to occasionally make reference that she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever known. But he soaked up the knowledge and through each revelation he finally saw his mother as the human being she'd once been not the ethereal and mysterious creature that his father's silence had made her out to be.

The week after the Aoiya's opening found Aoshi again spending another Saturday with Misao. They had met the others at the mall and Aoshi had spent most of the time glaring at anyone ogling Misao. She had decided to finally wear the outfit she had mentioned was similar to Shuura's but instead of the spikes she wore the charm bracelet Aoshi gave her at the Game shop and a necklace he gave her at the Aoiya's opening. He found that the total effect was rather distracting!

When they all finally returned to her uncle's house he relaxed. The two of them walked back to the garden and sat at a bench at the far side of the garden then Aoshi decided to tell her about the things his father had been doing lately…

"Aoshi that's wonderful! I'm so glad you two are starting to get along better!" she chirped cheerfully. Aoshi smirked slightly he really was glad that his father was starting to treat him like a son…finally! It felt good!

"So the school year is ending next week! What are your plans for the summer?" Aoshi asked. Misao shrugged…

"I'm probably gonna go visit gramps! What about you?" she asked. It took Aoshi a moment to respond so distracted was he by the way she looked today…

"Nothing… just hang around here I guess. Dad's got some big project and he can't plan anything this summer," Aoshi replied looking rather disappointed. Misao jumped to his rescue then!

"Hey I have an idea! Why don't we all go to Kyoto for the summer? I bet Gramps would love to have us! I can ask the rest of the guys!" she exclaimed happily. He smiled…

"Yeah…I'm sure father won't mind if we hang out this summer in Kyoto," he replied suddenly looking forward to summer vacation.

"And maybe Vicky-sensei will take us to California! She takes me all the time! She has a big private jet!" she explained enthusiastically. Aoshi smiled indeed summer vacation was starting to look appealing!

"Misao have you thought about what you want to do when you get out of high school?" he asked suddenly deciding then that he should tell her what had been bothering him since Tak's death. Misao seemed confused for a moment by the sudden change in subject but quickly recovered and smiled for him again.

"Yep! Sure have! I want to sing! I want to be a famous singer!" she declared confidently. Aoshi smiled and nodded.

"I bet you'll be great!" he affirmed. She smiled and blushed at his compliment but the smile soon faded. She frowned… the more-serious-than-usual expression on his face confusing her…

"What about you Aoshi? Have you thought about what you want to do?" she asked remembering that Aoshi only had one more year before he went to college and he obviously had something on his mind that he wanted to share.

"Yes…I want to avenge Tak's death! They're still out there! Hurting people! I want to stop them! I don't know how…" he stopped he looked confused and angry. Misao took his hand twining her fingers with his gently seeking to comfort him in some small way…

"You know when father was arrested he was almost released within a few months. Something about faulty evidence making the case against him invalid or something like that! Vicky-sensei introduced Gramps to someone then that I'll never forget!" she began. Aoshi looked horrified. The thought that Misao's father could be out there causing harm and still being a threat to Misao's safety was too scary! He gripped her hand a little tighter and she smiled up at him.

"Her name is Reiko Ichiro. She's a district attorney! I remember she brought me into the courtroom and I watched. I couldn't understand everything that was going on but father's defense was trying to make it look like an accident and setting Lord Hannya up as the bad guy…"

"THAT is the biggest load of…" Aoshi sputtered indignantly. He had learned through Misao that it was his father who saved Misao the day she nearly died at the hands of her father with one punch Hannya Shinomori had knocked the man out cold. Aoshi had felt a deep swell of pride and gratitude towards his old man when he learned of that.

"Wait! Let me finish!" she cut him off "they _tried_ to set Lord Hannya up as the bad guy but every time they did she used her brains to knock down all their bad excuses and weak allegations! Father is serving a maximum sentence because of her sharp mind!" she explained proudly.

"Vicky-sensei called her a crusader for justice! A court room super hero! She said that a person has to be really, really smart and study really hard in order to be like her! I think perhaps you could be one too because you're really smart…" she suggested shyly. Aoshi blinked in surprise! That was a route that hadn't even occurred to him.

In retrospect he realized that no matter how many times bad guys were caught if the law wasn't applied properly they would go free. As had been the case with the suspects they'd caught in connection with Tak's death. He looked down at his feet and lost himself in the possibility. Yes, he knew he could do that! And again she had managed to make his tomorrow look a little brighter!

His head turned suddenly then to look at her and thank her but all thoughts suddenly disappeared from his mind. He hadn't realized that she had moved in closer to him. Her intention had been to give him a chaste little kiss in the cheek but because his head turned so suddenly the kiss landed on his lips instead. The kiss ended far too soon for Aoshi's hormone addled brain to process completely. His heart hammered in his chest…

"Thank you…" he whispered the last command his brain had given before it shut down. Misao blushed and tried to say something but nothing was coming out. Aoshi for his part was just as lost and did the only thing he could think of… he kissed her again! Both suddenly lost in this new found closeness they didn't notice the adults watching from a window inside the house. Victoria picked up the phone…

"Hannya…You'll never guess what happened today…" she began cheerfully as she gave Hannya the play by play of his son's first kiss…

It was dark by the time Aoshi, Sano and Kenshin finally left the Makimachi residence and walked towards Kenshin's place (conveniently located near the Makimachi Residence!) for their sleepover. Sano rolled his eyes in annoyance. Both of his friends had their heads totally in the clouds! Aoshi couldn't stop smiling and Kenshin kept giggling every now and then. They had all talked about summer vacation and everyone was up for going to Kyoto! Sano was particularly looking forward to going to California for three weeks with Vick-sensei but he wasn't too crazy about getting into an airplane.

"I for one can't wait to see the beaches or rather the girls on the beaches!" Sano commented trying to snap his friends out of it. Of course that had the opposite effect. They both froze and turned bright red as an image of the girls in bikinis materialized in their minds.

"Arrrgh! Will you guys snap out of it!" he yelled at them annoyed "you would think you've never been kissed before!" he teased.

"I have but I don't think my mother or my cousin Tomoe count!" Kenshin laughed "and I don't think Little Miss Anzu or your mother count either Sano!" he added jokingly and the two boys laughed.

"Well I haven't…" Aoshi said softly and seriously. The reminder that Aoshi had no mother and had spent much of his early childhood in various boarding schools abroad sobered them instantly. No one really ever had been that close to him before…

"So…I guess your looking forward to the beach too huh?" Sano teased hoping to lighten his friend's mood again. Aoshi blushed deeply again as an image of Misao in a bikini crept its way into his brain _again_.

"Whatever…" he grumbled unable to hide a tiny smirk. Sano and Kenshin laughed. Summer looked like it was going to be a happy event despite the tragic start to the year. They continued walking down the street chatting amicably and making plans for their summer of fun and teenage romance…

A white van turned sharply around the corner then and seemed to be coming in their direction. The boys looked up at the screeching of the tires but since it didn't look familiar they ignored it. Suddenly the van screeched to a halt next to them and all three exchanged wary glances and backed away from it slowly. A pretty girl in a Domino High school uniform jumped out of the back of the van. She looked too old to be in high school and the skirt's hem was WAY above regulation.

"Hey boys! Wanna come to a party?" she invited sweetly as two more girls jumped out. Those others were wearing tight leather miniskirts, long black platform boots and mesh shirts with little black strips strategically placed to hide their nipples. Their hair had wild colors all over it and they had piercing all over their faces which were layered with extremely garish makeup. All three boys frowned…

"Just came from one so thanks but no thanks," Sano replied gruffly and the boys backed away some more. They smiled sweetly again and the boys exchanged a suspicious glance. They did not like the look of those three. They wanted to get as far away as possible as quickly as they could but at the same time didn't want to turn their backs on them.

"Oh but we insist!" the first girl said sweetly. Before any of the boys could react dart guns appeared in their hands that they pulled from behind them. They fired with quick precision and the three boys crumpled to the ground as the sedative took effect almost instantly. Three more women jumped out of the van to help put the unconscious boys in it and they raced away from the scene…

Shuura, Hiei and Kurama had long since arrived at the Himura household. Unable to stand all the lovi-dovi-ness going on they'd decided to hit the road early. Sano had stayed behind because he was happily stuffing his face with all the goodies at the Makimachi house as he chatted away with Vicky-sensei about surfing in California. They sat on the lawn outside now waiting for the other three to arrive.

The boys were having a sleepover at the Himura's and the girls were having one at the Makimachi's. Shuura had declined both but decided to hang out with Hiei and Kurama until Kenshin and the others arrived thinking she would go home after hanging out with the boys for a while. She felt more comfortable with them. Kurama's uncle Hiko was at the house visiting and had offered to drive her home so she could stay longer and wouldn't have to walk in the dark.

A white van suddenly appeared racing down the street. It came to a screeching halt in front of the three kids and the one driving the van poked her head out the window. Shuura got up and boldly stepped forward motioning for Kurama and Hiei to stay back. Shuura knew these girls! They were part of a nasty gang called: The Radioactive Butterfly. They had tried on numerous occasions to recruit her but Shuura had been forceful and to the point with her refusal. She had in fact rescued with Tak and Kiki's help a few months back her friend Anko. Anko was still in rehab and Shuura visited her with Kiki often. She was doing well.

"What do you want?" Shuura replied making a point to crack her knuckles loudly letting them know she was not gonna take any crap from them. Hiei and Kurama took up defensive positions on either side of Shuura. The girl on the driver's side laughed and tossed a piece of paper at her.

"If you want them back you'll follow the instructions and don't call the police," she said and laughed as she peeled away. Shuura stared in shock as they peeled away. Kurama ran inside to call his uncle and his mother and with shaking hands Shuura's reached for the paper. She opened and tears slid down her face as she read it.

"Shuura! What is it!" Hiei shook her alarmed. Shuura never cried…

"It's a ransom note…" she said in a shaky voice "they have Kenshin, Sano and Aoshi! They're going to kill them…" Hiei's eyes went wide. Hiko came running out then with his cell phone on his ear. He had dialed Sano's father a detective at Domino precinct. Shuura handed him the note…

"Oh god…call Shinomori…" he said as he read the contents of the note to Mazaki. He instructed his sister in law to call all the other parents and make sure all the other kids in their group of friends were safe and accounted for then instructed Shuura to get inside and stay with Kurama and Hiei. Kazuma and Yusuke were approaching the Himura house then and hurried towards it as they saw all the commotion on the lawn.

"I know this gang! I know someone who can help us!" Shuura tried but nobody was listening. Kurama came running out of the house then saying he'd called the Makimachi house but the boys had left a while ago. They heard the peeling of tires again but as everyone turned they realized it was just Vicky-sensei's red jeep screeching down the road. She haphazardly parked in front of the house and jumped out demanding to know what happened. Hiko just handed her the note. The woman paled…

"Vicky-sensei! I know someone who can help!" Shuura pleaded. Victoria turned to her then…

"Tell me!" she ordered. Shuura immediately told her about Anko and Victoria took the girl's arm and guided her towards the jeep ignoring Hiko's protests. Kurama and Hiei invited themselves along. Yusuke and Kazuma arrived then and crowded into Victoria's jeep; wanting to know what was going on. Shuura explained Yusuke cracked his knuckles and so did Kazuma ready to fight to get their friends back…

"You can't take these kids with you! You're being reckless!" Hiko scolded but backed off at the scary look on Victoria's face.

"They're safest with me! Tell Shinomori to send guards to the Makimachi house to protect the girls!" she ordered seriously "Just in case!". The girls were having their sleepover there and she was not willing to take chances. Her jeep peeled away into the night racing to find the boys…

The three boys awoke some time later to muffled unintelligible music. They looked around and they were in room with no windows lit only by a small white light bulb hanging from the ceiling that wasn't strong enough to illuminate the entire room. Aoshi was second to recover Sano was already awake and alert. He noticed that Kenshin seemed to have suffered an injury on his head. There was a little stream of blood going down the side of his face and he looked dizzy and nauseous. He tried to move but realized his hands were tied tightly behind him and his legs were bound securely.

"Sano, Kenshin are you guys ok?" he asked twisting to pull himself up into a sitting position. There was an odd burning sensation in his stomach that was spreading slowly through his body making him feel feverish. Sano nodded.

"Yeah, but Kenshin's not looking so good," he replied.

"I'm ok…that I am…" Kenshin countered but his voice slurred and his eyes rolled back into his head for a moment. His brave attempt did not fool friends. His eyes closed and he was unconscious again.

"We have to get out of here," Aoshi declared trying to maneuver himself towards Sano but just as Sano was about to reply the door opened and one of their kidnappers walked. They realized instantly that it was the same girl who had spoken to them first on the street. She walked a bit unsteadily towards them.

"Hello boys…" she slurred drunkenly. Aoshi noticed then that two more had come in with him but they were hidden in the shadow and he couldn't see their faces. She went straight for Aoshi and stood over him. She turned to the girls at the door.

"Is this the one?" she said in reply the two girls giggled. Aoshi winced he hated gigglers! She put one leg on either side of him and crouched down in front of him. She reached out her hand to fondle him and Aoshi just reacted! His knees shot up to throw her off. She cried out in pain and anger as she slammed sideways onto the hard concrete floor.

"Don't touch me!" Aoshi hissed furiously. She got back up quickly and this time she put a bent leg across his knees and pushed all her weight on it to keep him from moving. He winced in pain but made a valiant effort not to cry out. Sano screamed at her to back off but she ignored him. Aoshi glared at her defiantly. She raked her nails painfully across his chest ripping his shirt and drawing thin red bloodlines across it. He gritted his teeth against the pain and continued his defiant glaring unwilling to give them the satisfaction of seeing him suffer.

"I gave you a big dose! What's the matter with you! Don't you like girls!" she shrieked annoyed then kicked him hard in the ribs and he felt it break. She walked away for a moment discussing the amount of the drug he'd been given with the other two. Apparently during the ride over they had injected him with some male enhancement drug and it explained why he was feeling oddly feverish and restless. He knew that no amount of drugs would make him want to be touched by any of those women!

"Yeah he does!" said one of the shadowed girls "he likes that little one with the big mouth! The little bratty, spoiled _princess_ from the Aoiya!" she spat out angrily.

"Shut up! You don't know anything about her! You have no right to even speak of her! You're just jealous because she's stronger, smarter and prettier than you'll ever be!" he retorted full of pride and defiance angry that they should have the temerity to talk about his Misao that way! Sano called out some of his own insults! Again the first girl responded by racking her nails across his chest creating crisscrossing red marks on it. He bit his lip to keep from crying out.

She kicked him hard in the ribs again then dragged him away from the wall to the center of the room. There were two thick metal loops bolted to floor. Aoshi fought against them as the three struggled to push him down onto the floor. The pain was making him dizzy and as they called for reinforcements Aoshi's struggling was finally defeated. He slammed back onto the floor and they quickly took some rope tied his hands to the loops and he pulled desperately against them. With a vicious tug she undid his pants.

"Don't touch me!" Aoshi screamed but the woman just laughed.

"Aw…how cute! You were saving yourself for your little princess!" she mocked "well too bad!" she laughed and that laughter would haunt Aoshi for years to come…

* * *

Seto's hand shook as it froze above the board. Gozaburo's abusive tutelage had been something that he thought _no one_ could possibly understand. He was of the firm belief that not one person on earth could truly understand what it was like to be in Seto's shoes. Never in his wildest imaginings had he ever realized that he and Aoshi could be so alike in so many ways. He had just thought Aoshi to be a ruthless bastard on a quest for power. He had completely misunderstood.

Hiei had left partway through the account. He – like all Aoshi's closest friends who went out searching with Victoria that night – had been frustrated by the fact that they had arrived too late to save Aoshi and Kenshin from being raped by various members of the Radioactive Butterflies which consisted of not only women but several cross-dressing men as well and had been led by an ex-member of the Jolly Devils gang by the name of Senkaku. Kenshin was unconscious through most of it and Sano was spared temporarily for some sadistic reason but he was beaten and gagged then forced to watch.

"How do you live with that?" Seto began placing his stone haphazardly on the board. Aoshi reached over the table and removed the stone Seto had placed throwing it back into Seto's bowl. He blinked and stared at Aoshi in confusion.

"I know you can do better than that," Aoshi stated simply giving the boy a deeply serious look. Seto took another look at the board closed his eyes and tried to steady his hands before taking another stone.

"As for how…well for a long time I didn't live. I merely existed. I was a born a demon that night forsaking all my humanity for the strength needed to reap vengeance," he explained calmly. Seto nodded. It was exactly the way he felt. He felt numb unable to get beyond the shadow of those dark days under Gozaburo's rule. He had forsaken his own humanity for the power to destroy Gozaburo and take his prized possessions from him. Yugi's arrival and the friendship Seto was reluctant to admit they had; had thrown everything into confusion for him.

"Is being a demon what makes you strong?" Seto asked but somehow he didn't think the answer would be yes. He placed another stone on the board but this time the move was more at the level he had been playing until now.

"No, far from it in fact but I'll get to that soon enough," he replied. Hiei came back then with Kurama in tow. Kurama stopped next to Aoshi and patted him on the shoulder then wordlessly went to sit next to Hiei. He smiled at Seto. Seto was not surprised to feel the aura of power radiating from the man. No doubt he'd received similar training from that same mysteriously elusive teacher.

However something had changed. It was no longer a soft subtle pulse but a powerful energy field that seemed to join all of them. They drew strength from Aoshi and Aoshi drew strength from them. Yugi and the cheerleader often spoke of something like it but in them it had seemed like nothing but rhetorical nonsense not the very real field emanating from Aoshi and his friends that was making his millennium senses go wild!

"How's the game going?" Kurama asked noticing Seto gazing intently at them from the corner of his eye.

"I think my game has improved," Aoshi stated calmly "though not enough I think…"

"If you lose Sensei will never let you hear the end of it!" Kurama teased and took Hiei's hand in his again.

"I think I will have to resign my self to that fate," he replied as he made his move.

"I think she might go easy on him! We may have found her a staff weapons student!" Hiei interjected looking at Seto. Kurama's eyes lit up and he smiled.

"Provided that Seto will accept her challenge," Aoshi added giving Seto a calculating stare. Seto looked down at the board his brow furrowed in concentration.

"Oh she'll be all kinds of excited about that!" Kurama exclaimed cheerfully smiling at Seto. "Make no mistake Seto… Sensei's a hard task master but if you have faith in her teachings you'll never lose!" he added seriously.

"I understand…" Seto nodded and turned pensive for a moment. On the one hand he wanted the power these men seemed to share but on the other hand he always believed that he could rely on no one but himself for victory. To put such a faith on someone else went against all that he had believed thus far. His defeat at Yugi's hand had put that belief to the test and his faith had failed him more than once. So his desire for power eventually won out the argument.

"She is a psycho but one that will stand by you and have faith in you no matter what!" Hiei added proudly. That clinched it for Seto. That pride and strength that glowed in their eyes was something Seto desired too. If this teacher of theirs could show him well then he was willing to do whatever it took.

"By the way where's Misao?" Kurama asked turning to Aoshi.

"She was with Mokuba but I'm not sure where they went," Aoshi replied looking at Seto for the answer.

"I think they went to my office…we can take a break and go check on them?" Seto answered. Aoshi nodded and got up. They excused themselves from Hiei and Kurama for a moment and went in search of Misao and Mokuba. Seto explained that most likely Mokuba had gone to his office to get Seto's duel disk and show her his dragon cards in their full holographic form.

"Dragons…I like dragons but I prefer large cats like panthers and tigers," Aoshi commented blandly Seto laughed.

"I guess we're not completely alike!" he remarked amused. They heard Mokuba and Misao's laughter and entered the office.

"See! What did I tell you! He has the most heroic sense of timing!" Misao told Mokuba as she laughed merrily. Both looked up to smile at the approaching broody boys. He was amazed but not for the first time how her smile was enough to banish the darkest shadows of his past…


	8. Anger, fear, agression

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu-Yu Hakusho, Hikaru no Go.

**Warning:** This chapter contains violence and rape themes. If you are not able to stomach either or are not old enough to do so please READ NO FURTHER! As was made clear in the earlier chapters Aoshi has a happy ending so there is no need for you to continue reading.

* * *

**To be the Strongest**

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**Chapter 6: Anger… Fear… Aggression…the dark side are they!"** **– Master Yoda to Luke (Empire Strikes Back)**

Seto and Aoshi returned to the Go board to find that Kurama and Hiei had been joined by Kenshin and Sano. They had both apparently helped themselves to the household supply of foreign alcohol. Each had an American beer in their hand and as Aoshi and Seto took their seats they realized they had brought with them an entire tray of mixed hors'd oeuvres.

"We know you're telling stories!" Sano called outwardly he was as easy going as always but Aoshi could tell that if they were here it was because they were worried about the effect those old stories might have on him.

"So we came to listen in! If you don't mind…" Kenshin added politely. Aoshi just nodded slightly he looked at Seto and the boy just shrugged.

"Very well," Aoshi said simply. He examined the board and made his move.

"Your game has improved, that it has!" Kenshin exclaimed cheerfully as he noted how the gap in points had closed between Seto and Aoshi. Sano laughed…

"Yeah! Maybe Sensei won't kick your butt after all!" he laughed heartily and took a long drink from his beer before setting it down on the floor next to his chair and popping a little cheese cracker into his mouth. Aoshi just rolled his eyes. Seto shook his head despite the difference in age Sano and Kenshin were starting to remind him of Katsuya and Yugi. But just as the image was forming in his mind the look on both men's faces suddenly became deeply intense.

"Aoshi I hope you know what you're doing…" Sano began seriously. Aoshi's gaze remained even and implacable. He looked his friend straight in the eye.

"I do…" he replied simply. Kenshin gave him a sad little smile. Seto waited looking from one man to the next; each man watching Aoshi carefully with an intense gaze. The suspense was killing him! He wanted badly to know how Aoshi survived that mess but for once he was at a loss as to how to get what he wanted. In the past if he wanted information he would simply pay, bully, threaten or all of the above in order to get it. In Aoshi's case though it would push the man away and put him on a defensive. He didn't want that because he had already decided that Aoshi and his friends were allies worth having. He was literally at the edge of his seat!

"Then please continue…" Kenshin said softly. Aoshi nodded took a deep breath and continued.

"I can't remember many details. I think at some point I blocked it all out of my mind. I remember hearing my father's voice but I learned later that they were demanding ransom from father and they had placed a cell phone on my ear to prove to him that I was still alive," he explained slowly "at some point they decided I was too injured and weak to move so they cut the ropes…"

* * *

Slowly the pain and horror of the last few minutes receded. Aoshi tried to lift his head but the room swam and he put his head back down against the concrete floor. His eyes opened again as he heard a whimper that sounds like Kenshin. He turned to see Kenshin laying face down on the concrete floor but his eyes were closed and he was in the same disheveled state that Aoshi was. He slowly turned to look for Sano and saw him crumpled in a corner and his attackers were advancing on Sano now.

"No…" he croaked but it came out as nothing more than a hoarse whisper. Despite how injured he was Sano was still fighting. They removed the gag on Aoshi's friend and he yelled every nasty curse and threat at them that he could think of. Aoshi closed his eyes and he sobbed quietly cursing the betrayal his body had been forced to by whatever they put in him and his inability to overcome them. As they grabbed Sano he saw something glinting on the floor.

_Welcome Battousai…_

He heard the words in his head floating to him from some far away ancient place in his mind slowly filling his body with a strange new power. It was the hunting knife they'd just used to release him. The fools had decided that he was not a threat and had carelessly left it near him. He reached out and his hand wrapped around the hilt…

_I've thrown away everything for this fight…_

Something inside of him snapped! A cold deadly force suddenly extinguished all the pain and sorrow. His mind cleared and any reservations he might have had about taking a life vanished. Without realizing it he was on his feet and as the knife slid into the first person's kidney everything he had been until then finally vanished.

Somebody screamed but he paid no attention. His body seemed to move on its own accord as if he was possessed. Seconds seemed like an eternity everything around him seemed to move in slow motion. The knife slid easily in and out of bodies as one after the other of his attackers fell. Finally after the last fell he moved towards Sano and cut off the rest of his bindings without a word. The two of them moved towards Kenshin and fixed his clothes as best they could. He remained unconscious as Sano hoisted him up and Kenshin hung limp on his shoulder. Sano gave Aoshi a hard look.

"Ok…Lead the way Aoshi!" he said. Aoshi just nodded. His face was completely devoid of expression and his eyes held no emotion…

* * *

"I think that was the only other time I was afraid of Aoshi," Sano interrupted "that cold look on his face was scary…I kept thinking: 'my friend is dead'…" Seto was shocked quiet. Gone was the carefree smartass of just a few minutes ago. Glowing in his eyes was anger so deep it surprised Seto and it further served to differentiate him from the twerps. Never again would he ever compare this man to Katsuya! Kenshin reached out a hand and squeezed Sano's shoulder.

"It's over Sano," he said softly and seriously. Aoshi nodded his agreement and the anger in Sano's eyes receded. His respect for the man grew and he resolved to re-evaluate his opinion of the cheerleader. If her brother could be this intense she couldn't be all ditz! There was probably more to her just like there was more to Sano…

"But we didn't get very far. Despite my second wind I was overwhelmed by their sheer numbers…" Aoshi explained. "Kenshin had suffered a concussion on the trip to the warehouse because when they threw us in the van they threw Kenshin too hard and he hit the deck hard with his head,"

"In a way I was fortunate. I can't recall anything that happened to me but at the same time I was frustrated that I couldn't do anything to help my friends," Kenshin added sadly. It was a frustration that had filled him guilt and sadness for years.

"Wait…You said: _the only other time_…" Seto quoted Sano's earlier statement. Aoshi winced and sighed…

"The second time was when I fought Sensei and it's not a moment I'm particularly proud of…but we're getting too far ahead of ourselves, I'll get to it in time…" Aoshi explained. Seto nodded he could be patient when necessary and now it was very necessary.

* * *

Aoshi led Sano out of the small room into a short sparsely lit hallway with one small window at each end. He made short work of the poor excuse for guards that had come running in at the call of their comrades. The right side of the hall had three more doors and as they examined them they realized that all of them led to rooms similar to the one they'd just been in.

The windows provided little hope as they were too small for any of them to fit and they were too high up anyway for it to be safe for them to escape through especially with an unconscious Kenshin. There was a large set of double doors made of wood instead of metal like the smaller rooms. They could hear the loud unintelligible music coming from this room.

"Sano when we go in find an opening. I'll distract them and you get Kenshin to a doctor," he ordered in a cold tone completely devoid of emotion. It was the first Sano would hear the tone and he knew he would hate it for the rest of his life.

"Aoshi…" he tried to protest but Aoshi turned to him with that cold dead look in his eyes and all words fled him. He nodded and he readied himself slinking into a shadow near the door. Aoshi burst through the double doors and at first the partying gang didn't take any notice of him. The room was just a large square space with four support pillars near each corner and windows along to the right and in front of Aoshi. There was another set of large double doors on the far left side of the room and Aoshi was certain that was where the street exit would be.

A huge man with a strange pointy head wearing green spandex biker shorts and a matching shirt sitting on a throne-like chair in the middle of the room saw him. Seeing the bloody knife in Aoshi's hand he realized immediately that the ones who were supposed to have been watching them had been defeated. Not wanting to let his "goose of the golden eggs" get away he ordered the others to re-capture him.

Again Aoshi was thrown into a melee battle with only a knife and this strange new strength to defend him self. From the corner of his eye he saw Sano slither away dragging the unconscious Kenshin but he only made it to the middle of the room before he was stopped. Aoshi fought hard against the tide trying to get to his besieged friends but it was no use there were just too many…

Victoria raced through the streets of Kyoto knowing that with every second that passed the danger in which the boys were in grew exponentially. Anko, Shuura's friend had indeed been very helpful and after roughing up a few minor gangs they were able to determine the Radioactive Butterflies' current location. There was a rave in progress at an abandoned warehouse near the docks.

The information they received was that they should be able to find that gang in one of the levels of the warehouse. Victoria jumped out of the jeep followed by all the others. She instructed them to keep their cool and follow her lead. They nodded and followed as she put on her pale yellow wide collar trench coat. She approached the two bouncers at the door casually.

"It's their first time," she explained coolly producing two fifty dollar bills from the back pocket of her white stretch jeans. Everyone did their best to look as innocent as possible but it was unnecessary. The guards greedily took the American cash inspected the bills for a second and with a bow let them all through not giving them a second glance.

They made their way quickly but discreetly through the throng of intoxicated party-goers and headed up a large switchback staircase on the left side of the main entrance. They hurried up the stairs. Victoria didn't pause to investigate the second floor and when Shuura questioned her she merely shook her head saying they would not be there. For some reason she seemed certain they would be in the top level.

The woman's face had changed the instant they had walked into the warehouse. She seemed driven by some hidden call with a far-off look guiding her steps in an eerie precognitive way that recognized and removed obstacles before they became a problem. They reached the top and there was a large set of doors and one more set of stairs that very likely led to the ceiling. With eerie calm she announced that they were inside. She turned to them and her face had changed once more. A hard deadly look was in her eyes…

"Stay behind me! When I give the signal move in and get the boys!" she ordered. She turned and stalked purposefully to the wooden doors…

Aoshi saw his end nearing and didn't care. He had made it to his friends but had no more strength left with which to defend them. He and Sano had put up a valiant fight but they were too tired and too hurt to continue. The large man with the pointy head was identified as Senkaku and now he made his way implacably towards him. He ordered his fighters to stop and the room was suddenly very quiet as the DJ was ordered to cut the music. Sano crumpled to the ground in sheer exhaustion but Aoshi managed to stay on his feet. Senkaku grabbed Aoshi by the neck squeezing slightly.

"You're a lot more trouble than your worth! I may have to double the price for you!" he intoned angrily. Aoshi just stared blankly at him. He no longer cared because no matter how hard he tried; he always failed. The shame he felt went so deep he knew he could never live with him self now. For a moment he thought of his father and Misao and he regretted that he had failed them so badly but he knew they would be okay without him. Unlike him they were strong…

"Sano I'm sorry…" he said softly. He regretted the most that his friends should have to die along with him.

"Shut up! We're not dead yet! Don't give up!" Sano hissed furiously. Senkaku laughed mockingly but just as he was about to reply to Sano's remark the door exploded inward. Senkaku released him and turned away to see what was happening. Aoshi finally crumpled to the ground with Sano and Kenshin who was drifting in and out of consciousness. Sano and Aoshi pulled Kenshin towards the back wall of the room.

They did double takes! Victoria stood at the entrance framed by the ruined door. She seemed to be illuminated by an aura of great power. It made Aoshi think of the powerful amazons of mythology or perhaps a mighty Greek goddess. Just behind her stood Hiei, Kurama, Yusuke, Kazuma and Shuura and they all looked ready to rumble!

"The cavalry's here," Sano said softly smirking triumphantly. Aoshi watched in astonished silence. She walked into the room without saying a word Senkaku's thugs looked at each other not knowing what to make of her at first. Some even recognized her from her own catalogue. She didn't even flinch when Senkaku ordered his thugs to kill her. She stopped in the center of the room. They flew at her with every manner of weapon intent to take her down quickly but Victoria surprised them all. There were no wasted motions or flashy martial arts moves but anyone who came at her went down and stayed down.

Knives flew in the direction of her head only to be easily captured by her and thrown back to be impaled precisely on their owners' heads. She walked a straight and steady path through the room silent and unstoppable hardly taking her eyes off her intended and increasingly nervous target: Senkaku. Desperately they fought to stop her but it was no use; even the ones who had guns failed to take her down. Those were taken out by tiny little daggers she produced from within her trench coat and fired accurately into their throats or foreheads.

Aoshi watched in awe as her coat flared dramatically around her when she swiveled to counter a new attacker. The guys picked off the stragglers but there really weren't that many. He noted with mild satisfaction that Senkaku was shivering. He yelled desperately for his people to turn the heat up but by now they all realized the terrible danger they were in and they were in a panic fighting merely in the hopes of preserving their lives. One of them frightened retreated and grabbed Sano off the floor trying to use him as a shield. She stopped…

"Release him," she ordered calmly. The man grabbed on tight to Sano and pointed a shaky gun at Victoria. Another dagger shot from Victoria's hand and Sano's would be hostage taker crumpled to the ground dead. She turned her attention to Senkaku and in the blink of an eye she closed the distance between them. He tried to take a step back but tripped over the dead body of one of his people. He raised his arms in a futile attempt to shield him self.

"D-d-d-don't hurt me," he whimpered. Victoria stopped and she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Why do they always say that! Why must they _always_ utter the same cliché line!" she complained to no one in particular closing her eyes for a moment and shaking her head. She stepped on his knee and pressed down until Aoshi could hear the bones breaking under her foot. Senkaku howled in pain…

"What the hell do you think I came here to do! Give you a massage! Moron!" she retorted sarcastically. She smiled wickedly then and picked him up by his neck and held him above her head.

"You know…I've always wanted to try this!" she said with wicked glee as she squeezed his throat and again all the kids could hear the bones crunching under her impossible strength. He struggled briefly but then went completely limp as his completely crushed wind pipe killed him. She threw him against one of the support pillars and his body crumpled to the ground. She had completely dismissed his existence way before he hit the ground. She pulled out her cell phone and speed dialed Hannya to tell him to meet them at Domino Memorial Hospital.

"Stay still and don't talk. Conserve your strength I'll take it from here," she said soothingly quickly moving in to assess their injuries. She ordered Yusuke and Kazuma to check the rest of this level for any more gang members. A few minutes later pandemonium gripped the lower levels of the warehouse. The police had arrived and people were trying to run away from the place. She ordered Shuura and Hiei to run down and direct the police to this level.

Kurama however was unresponsive. As soon as Victoria had cleared the way he ran past Senkaku to the wall where Aoshi, Sano and his twin Kenshin were huddled. He had fallen to his twin's side and cried inconsolably. He wiped desperately at the blood running down his face from the "X" one of his attackers had carved on his face. He removed the soaked makeshift bandage Sano and Aoshi had placed on him and tore off the sleeve of his shirt to replace it. Holding him tight he begged his twin to wake up.

"Kurama! Calm down! You can't help him that way!" she ordered him shaking him gently to get his attention. She took a quick look at Kenshin and then explained to his distraught twin that he had a mild concussion and would be alright. As if by some miraculous twin power Kenshin opened his eyes then and smiled at his brother. Kurama stopped crying.

He remained semi-conscious until several ambulances arrived to take all three boys to the hospital. Sano's dad hit the scene along with the first officers and paled at the sight of his battered son. Victoria assured him that the boy would be alright as they loaded Sano onto an ambulance. Detective Mazaki went along with him instructing his partner to carry on without him. Victoria climbed on the ambulance with Kenshin, Kurama and Aoshi.

* * *

Aoshi stopped he couldn't remember anything that happened at the hospital. He looked up as a loud roar came from the other side of the ball room. Mai had summoned her Harpy's Pet Dragon in a duel against Jou. Aoshi blinked in surprise!

"Remarkable technology…" he observed. He smiled as he saw Mokuba and Misao headed their way again. They smiled and the two hurried towards Seto and Aoshi. Seto smirked proudly for a moment but his mind turned back to Aoshi's story. Amazement and extreme curiosity battled for supremacy in his mind. It was amazing to think that Aoshi in his battered and abused state had been able to kill and injure several vicious and seasoned gangsters who were at full strength.

"Thank you…" he replied a little absently. Even more astonishing was the thought that an ex-super model who sold lingerie had been able to kill or mortally wound over thirty of the most vicious gangsters in Domino by herself! It was intriguing to say the least!

"It's hard to imagine…" he thought out loud as he tried to concentrate on the board again. Aoshi and the other men exchanged amused glances. It was Vicky-sensei's greatest skill: to be totally underestimated!

"Yeah! No one can tell she's a bad ass tough chick until it's too late!" Sano enthused draining the last of his beer. He scanned the room for one of the maids…

"Especially since she's one the girliest-looking women you'll ever meet!" Kurama added and they all laughed.

"Whoa! Now there's something you don't see every day! A bunch broodies laughing!" Mokuba piped up as he walked up to sit on the armrest of his brother's chair. Misao laughed as she did the same on Aoshi's chair but put an arm around his back. He put his arm around her waist.

"And without our help!" she added cheerfully. Mokuba nodded in amused agreement as Seto and Aoshi rolled their eyes.

"So what are you guys up to!" Mokuba asked full of innocent curiosity. Misao smiled at him.

"Telling stories…" Sano answered shoving a little triangle shaped tuna sandwich in his mouth.

"…And discussing Vicky-sensei's deceptive girlie-ness!" Kenshin added cheerfully they all laughed again as Kaoru joined him at his chair imitating Misao. He turned to gratefully accept the fresh beer the maid brought for him and Sano. Kaoru seized it from him and took a quick drink before handing it back. Kurama and Hiei asked her for one too as the woman quietly disappeared again. Sano took a quick drink of his cold beer then spoke again…

"Well let's see if I had to describe Vicky-sensei in one word it would have to be…"

"Earthquake…" Misao interrupted suddenly with an unusually serious look on her face that seems to surprise even Aoshi.

"I hadn't thought of it that way but you're right," he agreed. She smiled again and leaned in closer to her fiancée who responded by tightening his hold on her a little more.

"There was this one time back when I was still on my rehabilitation in the US…It's funny but I'd completely forgotten about it…" she began a bit uncertainly. Aoshi asked her to elaborate pulling her into a protective embrace on his lap. Everyone gathered around to listen…

"Well she took me to the doctor that day. We went by ourselves, we always did except for the driver…" she began……

_At the request of her grandfather Victoria had taken little Misao to the USA where the best pediatric surgeons and medical practioners could heal her. She made it a point to accompany the girl to all her doctor's appointments and therapy sessions. Because of her popularity in the USA however she usually took back ways and employee entrances and exits to avoid the merry band of fans that usually materialized every now and then in the places she frequented. Such was the case that day after Misao's regular therapy session._

"_Where would you like to go to lunch today?" Victoria asked softly and sweetly as she wheeled Misao out to the alley where her limo was parked. Misao smiled up at her in happy anticipation of the special treat she was sure to get. Victoria always made sure to treat her after her therapy sessions. It made the sessions almost enjoyable! _

_The steep small ramp seemed to pose little trouble for Victoria as she steered the wheel chair towards the car where the driver had already popped the trunk and opened the back passenger door. There was a man in a green army jacket in the alley staring with crazed hungry eyes at Victoria. Victoria merely glanced at him smiled then ignored him waving casually to her driver._

"_Victoria!" the man called out to her moving quickly out of the corner he'd been sulking in. She turned and smiled._

"_I know you were told not to come around me anymore. You make my drivers nervous…" she replied softly in a sweet and patient tone. The man just stared in a crazed way that frightened Misao. Victoria moved slightly to block her from his view. Her driver stepped towards her in an attempt to protect Victoria but she held up one hand to stop him._

"_I don't care!" he yelled and lunged at her. It was over almost before it started. One second he was barreling towards her the next he was a bloody unconscious mess on the ground. She turned to Misao calmly and again spoke in her soft motherly tone._

"_How about we go to the "Rain Forest Café" today! I think you're going to like it very much," she suggested sweetly smiling patiently at the little girl. Little Misao dismissed the almost scary incident and agreed as Victoria lifted her off the chair and put her in the limousine…_

"It was the weirdest thing…There was not a hair out of place…not a smudge on her white suit…She wasn't even out of breath!" Misao remarked calmly. Aoshi nodded as did the rest of his friends. A low whistle of amazement came from Honda. The duel between Mai and Jou had ended soon and seeing that several people had gathered in the little broody corner everyone congregated their and listened to Misao's account.

"Yep! That's Vicky-sensei!" exclaimed Sano chuckling slightly. Seto's eyes widened just a little more…

"I remember when I first went to California I was very afraid of earthquakes! California is famous for them you know!" she explained "I recall learning somewhere that they were the scariest attacks mother nature can throw at you!" she paused and smiled as Aoshi pulled her close. Aoshi continued…

"…Because they can come at you at any time in any place; on a sunny morning or cloudy afternoon on a mountain or a dessert it doesn't matter. A storm you can see coming from the clouds in the horizon, a volcano you can see the smoke rising from it, a tsunami you can see the wave building and you know where and when it will hit but an earthquake gives no warning and it only needs a few seconds to destroy even the mightiest of buildings with the strongest foundations," he elaborated.

"It's the unpredictability of it that makes it scary, that it does," Kenshin added seriously to several murmurs of agreement. Aoshi chuckled to everyone's surprise.

"In all the years I've known her I still could never tell you for sure what would really make her mad! She's too unpredictable!" he said. Sano laughed and recounted the time she had torn to shreds a manga she was reading because the ending wasn't to her liking. A minute later she was dancing in the kitchen making pies! Misao laughed and nodded.

"Yep! That's Vicky-sensei!" she exclaimed cheerfully "but you know something I was never afraid of earthquakes after that…"

"An earthquake eh? Well I suppose I've been compared to worst things…" a familiar voice behind Aoshi spoke in a very familiar melodious foreign accent! Every man sitting (with the exception of Seto) jumped to their feet. Seto blinked in surprise at the speed at which Aoshi stood put Misao down gently and turned to where his mentor was standing. She smiled amused as the men bowed respectfully.

"Hello my apprentices!" she greeted cheerfully and scanned the chairs in the area. Selecting Hiei's she sat with all the elegance and poise of a queen smiling at her "court". She crossed her legs and laid her hands on her knee in a very feminine fashion inviting Hiei to sit on the armrest of the chair. Without hesitation Hiei did as he was told.

"I think I kind of like it? Earthquake…yes I like it!" she said still smiling sweetly. Seto just stared in surprise as everyone else called out their greetings with Kurama, Misao, Kaoru and Sano moving towards her to add a hug to their greeting. He _had_ met Victoria before! He didn't know who she was at the time however but she had impressed him none the less. They were right about her! In her simple fitted blue jeans, white long sleeve cotton blouse and high heeled sandals she looked every bit the super model but not at all like an invincible force of instant destruction.

"I hear the hunting went well Mr. Kaiba!" she smiled at Seto now. Hiei and a few of the others exchanged a confused glance. Seto nodded then at Victoria's prompting he briefly explained that on an occasion some years back Victoria had come to Kaiba Mansion dragging the unconscious bodies of Raijuta and Kimo. They had been dispatched by Gozaburo at his partner Kanryu's request in one of their earliest attempts to slay the growing threat of Aoshi Shinomori.

After a brief word with his adoptive father she had stopped where he was hiding outside his office. She had looked him straight in the eye for a moment then smiled at him and said "Happy Hunting Seto Kaiba!" and had walked away calling out "Come to me when you're ready!". He had been a little confused by that but was impressed at how she'd merely slapped away the guards that tried to impede her leaving the house.

"I don't understand how you knew…I was twelve and hiding behind a plant! I know I didn't look or feel very confident in my plans yet," he explained sounding confused. She laughed…

"A successful predator knows to hide in the shadow until it's ready to strike! Besides I never underestimate anyone by their age or size! Right boys?" she replied turning to her students who nodded and murmured their agreements. Hiei spoke most on this point. He was 5'3" but when unleashed he could be just as dangerous as Aoshi in all his 6'4" glory. That was one of the reasons why Aoshi chose him most often to be his partner in the most dangerous missions and the reason why Hiei was director of Oniwaban Protective Services in New York where he and Kurama lived.

"I see…" he replied softly. He had to admit she did have a point. He had underestimated Yugi because he looked small and wimpy and boy what a slap-down he'd received for that colossal oversight! It had been a hard and expensive lesson to learn.

"Alright! I take it this is the Broody Boy Corner correct?" she asked to those gathered around the small table.

"I prefer to call it the "Broody Hottie" corner!" Carson piped up then and Mokuba plus every female present laughed. Misao called her enthusiastic agreement as she snuggled against Aoshi's chest. Seto could've sworn that Aoshi blushed but it was gone so fast he couldn't be sure.

"…And while I heartily agree with that title Carson I know from experience that they get twitchy when there's too many non-broodies around! So it's time for everyone to disperse!" she ordered still smiling merrily. Sano was first to get up with Kenshin right behind him an arm around Kaoru's waist.

"Alright everyone without a "Darth" title come with me!" He called out. Yugi's friends (with the exception of Anzu who laughed!) looked a little confused and Aoshi's friends just laughed!

"A "Darth" title?" Mokuba asked looking at his brother. Sano spoke as he picked up his beer…

"Clockwise: Darth Shinomori! Darth Mozuko! And last but not least Darth Kaiba!" he announced in his usual smartass way pointing first to Aoshi then Hiei and finally Seto! Everyone laughed…

"I knew it wouldn't be long before he added you Seto!" Victoria laughed. She surprised him yet again by dropping the formal use of his last name and addressing him simply by his first name. He didn't expect it so soon but perhaps it had to do with how Aoshi and his friends were treating him. He decided he'd just wait and see! Everyone began to walk away reluctantly. Jou tried to talk Mai into a rematch but Mai wasn't biting and they bantered the whole way back! Mokuba delighted in his brother's new nickname and excitedly told Misao about the Darth Vader photo-mosaic he had in his room.

"Must we go so soon?" Carson sighed "The view here is so nice!" he added a bit overly dramatic. Victoria laughed as Aoshi, Hiei and Seto rolled their eyes at the same time! Misao sighed contentedly…

"It's so comfortable here! Can't I stay?" she sighed dreamily closing her eyes and resting her head against Aoshi's chest. Aoshi made no move to release her. Victoria just laughed some more.

"Really! Let me try!" Carson exclaimed enthusiastically moving towards Misao and Aoshi. Misao's eyes snapped opened and she mock-glared at Carson tightening her grip on Aoshi's chest. Victoria laughed heartily at Carson and Misao's antics. Carson turned and with exaggerated gestures excused himself to return to the party with his four companions. Jai laughed hysterically! Finally with theatrically exaggerated drama Misao stood and made to leave…

"Come Mokuba! Let us go see this photo-mosaic you speak of!" she announced dramatically. Mokuba stood and marched to her side but just as they walked away Misao turned suddenly and ran back pressed a deep passionate kiss on Aoshi' lips that he wasted no time in responding to then walked away smiling and humming innocently. Mokuba giggled as they walked away leaving Aoshi to try and school his face back to his usual stoic façade. Victoria was practically howling in laughter!

"Oh don't try child! You're just going to hurt yourself!" she laughed seeing Aoshi's discomfiture. He finally allowed himself to smirk slightly. Victoria smiled at him and nodded in motherly approval. Kurama finally stood and gave Hiei a quick peck in the cheek before returning to the main party. Hiei took the seat Kurama had just vacated. The maid returned then with his beer and attempted to leave quietly in search of Kurama to deliver his but Victoria appropriated Kurama's beer and cheerfully sent the girl to get Kurama a new drink.

"So aside from Aoshi's eminent defeat," she began cheerfully casting a meaningful glance at the Go board "what have I missed?" she asked casually.


	9. Try not! Do or Do not!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu-Yu Hakusho, Hikaru no Go.

**Warning:** This chapter contains suicide themes. If you are not able to stomach it or are not old enough to do so please READ NO FURTHER! As was made clear in the earlier chapters Aoshi has a happy ending so there is no need for you to continue reading.

* * *

**To be the Strongest**

**Chapter 7: Try not! Do or do not. There is no try!"** **– Master Yoda to Luke (Empire Strikes Back)**

* * *

"So aside from Aoshi's eminent defeat," she began cheerfully casting a meaningful glance at the Go board "what have I missed?" she asked casually.

"Aoshi's been telling Seto stories…" Hiei volunteered. She turned to Aoshi surprised.

"I was telling him about Tak and my last day working at the Game shop…" Aoshi explained not taking his eyes off the board. She didn't say anything she just nodded and waited for Aoshi to continue but he didn't and she frowned.

"He told Seto about the warehouse…" Hiei again spoke for him in a solemn and slightly troubled tone. She looked surprised…

"Really!" she replied incredulous eyes wide with shock. After a moment she just smiled patiently and watched Aoshi for a moment with a wise motherly look in her eyes. For an instant an image of Seto's long dead mother materialized in vivid detail in his mind. He blinked hard and looked away the image evoked emotions and memories he thought he'd long since stamped out of his heart. He slammed the door shut on those memories not willing to deal with all the pain that went along with them.

"It was easier this time wasn't it…" she told him softly in a wise and patient tone she reached over to Hiei to give him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Seto looked up again then curiosity getting the better of him. Hiei relaxed and smiled then too. His inability to repay Aoshi for all he'd done for him had caused frustration to eat away at him for years. He – like most of Aoshi's friends – hated the thought of being able to find their happiness while Aoshi had remained alone in the dark for so long.

"Yes…yes it was…" he answered surprised with himself. Seto turned away studying the board intently. He put his stone down and captured one of Aoshi's stones. He smirked proudly…

"Well Aoshi that brings you to about three points behind!" she announced glancing at the board. He flinched…

"That's better then what I expected considering you haven't played in so long. I would still hope for a better showing…" she commented calmly watching Aoshi's reaction.

"Sorry…" he replied seriously as he made his move.

"Oh Sensei! I think we found you a staff weapons student!" Hiei interrupted in an attempt to steer his teacher away from the teasing he was certain she was going to lay on Aoshi.

"Oh that's so exciting!" she replied cheerfully. Hiei smirked glad he'd been able to cover for Aoshi.

"It still doesn't get Aoshi off the hook if he loses!" she added just as cheerfully. Aoshi just chuckled slightly and Hiei hung his head in defeat.

"Thank you Hiei. It was a good try!" Aoshi replied. Hiei looked up and gave him a small apologetic smirk.

"Yes it was! It was a very good try!" Victoria agreed reaching over to give him a congratulatory pat on the back and smile affectionately at him. Then she turned a serious look on Seto.

"So tell me Seto… how far did Aoshi get into the incident?" she asked. Seto looked up surprised. The hard edge in her voice caught him off guard and suddenly he felt as though how he responded would influence what she thought of him. The fact that he wanted to make a good impression surprised him more than anything!

"Just after you rescued him mam… but he stopped at the arrival of the ambulances…" he replied in a solemn voice. She nodded a troubled expression flitted past her face.

"I was about to tell him that I can't remember what happened at the hospital…" Aoshi added.

"Of course not…you and Sano were sedated most of the time…" she reminisced "after that the boys were taken to my house near Maiden's Peak."

"Why there? Wasn't the Shinomori estate safe?" Seto asked surprised that Aoshi would be taken anywhere but home after such an ordeal.

"No actually my home was attacked by members of the Jolly Devils that had recently been paroled. Father was not there and the guards were able to repel them but a few of the staff were injured. Misao's house was also attacked but those intruders were apprehended by my father and my uncles who had gone to the Makimachi household to protect Misao and her family themselves," Aoshi explained with a note of pride in his voice.

"It was decided that for the time being the boys would be safer at my house by the beach since I had just recently acquired it and no one yet knew of it," Victoria added gravely.

"I do remember that the first few nights after my kidnapping were hard. They were filled with strange dreams and horrible nightmares. It got to the point where I couldn't live with it anymore and I walked out one night while Sensei was locked in her office talking to father and headed towards Maiden's Peak," Aoshi recalled softly.

He frowned that night was still something of a blur. At times he believed he had actually jumped but Sensei had somehow caught him before he smashed into the rocks at the bottom and at other times he could see himself standing at the edge looking down with her arms wrapped tight around him to keep him from falling off the edge. But while he couldn't picture exactly what happened he did remember what she taught him that night and that was what he freely shared with Seto.

Victoria watched them with a calm and impassive look on her face. She did remember everything that had transpired that evening though she had altered his memory in order to protect Aoshi from her secret. Unable to stop it her mind turned back the hands of time as she listened to Aoshi share his experience with Seto…

* * *

Aoshi stumbled up the road slowly making his way to the top of Maiden's Peak. He had waited for Sano and Kenshin to fall asleep before leaving so they wouldn't try to stop him. Misao had called again today but he refused to talk to her. How could he? He was tainted, unclean how could he be worthy of being even looked at by his princess! A silent tear rolled down his face. Anger and shame filled his heart.

"Damn it!" he cursed as he stumbled and his knees hit the gravel on the side of the road for what seemed like the millionth time since he set out. Just a little further and he'd be at Maiden's Peak so he gritted his teeth against the pain and got up again. He trudged along slowly and painfully towards his goal…/

Hannya was lost in grief and guilt anyone with eyes could see that! Victoria for once was at a loss for what to say. Aoshi was the only heir to the Shinomori name and what they had done to him seriously jeopardized the future of his clan. To Hannya however it was the least of his concerns! Aoshi was all he had left of his beloved wife and he had pinned all his hopes and dreams on him. His son was taken from him and violated in a way too horrible for his paternal heart to assimilate and all the money in the world wouldn't be enough to fix it.

"When he needed me most I couldn't help him…" he berated himself softly. Tears fell freely from his eyes for the first time since his wife's death.

"You cannot do this to yourself Hannya! He will need your strength now more than ever!" she affirmed putting every once of strength and confidence into her voice that she could. She chocked back her own tears and rage. She marched up to the chair where he sat slumped in defeat and misery and shook him gently.

"Hannya the next few weeks will be the most difficult of his life! You will need to be strong and have faith in your son! He can get through this I know it but we will need to be there for him…" she stopped as an image of Aoshi walking towards Maiden Peak flashed quickly in her mind.

"He's not in his bed!" she exclaimed horrified she ran out of her office then up the stairs towards his room with Hannya right behind her. She burst through the door and the bed was empty. She ran back down yelling towards Hannya to wait here and not let the other boys out. Once out sight of her two level Victorian style house she burst up the hill at her full speed (that's ten times faster than the fastest cheetah!). She found him standing at the edge of the cliff looking up at the stars.

"I'm sorry Tak! I failed…I'm not strong enough… I'm not worthy…I'll never be…" he sobbed softly and took another step towards the edge.

"YOU'RE WRONG!" she called out to him the power and conviction in her voice making him stop in his tracks. He turned his head slightly towards her.

"Sensei? What are you doing here?" he asked softly. The howling evening wind did not prevent her from hearing his soft voice. His long hair whipped around his head as a gust of wind blew past him.

"Preventing you from walking this path," she replied as she walked carefully towards him.

"Come with me Aoshi…" she called out to him. He shook his head and stepped closer to the edge. 'No! No! I will not let him _die_!' she thought desperately. For nearly three hundred years she had watched over this planet. She had cared for the descendants of her only surviving daughter for that long and on that ledge stood the last direct descendant of her child's bloodline. She'd be damned if she would let him die!

"**_Aoshi_**! Come with me now!" she ordered him hoping that the edge of finality in her voice would return some sense into the boy.

"Why?" he retorted bitterly "I will never be strong…you waste your time Sensei…"

"I will be the judge of that Aoshi! Now come with me!" she cut him off. He shook his head again and his soft choked sobs broke her heart.

"I'm a weak fool! I'll bring you nothing but shame and dishonor!" he replied in disgust. He choked back another sob.

"You're wrong Aoshi! You're stronger than you think! Come with me now! I can teach you! Aoshi…AOSHI!" she screamed as his arms opened and he took that final step horrified she watched as he disappeared off the edge. She dove right after him!

Aoshi watched with detached interest as the rocks at the bottom sped towards him. All of a sudden though he stopped! A great cushion of air seemed to have materialized below him and slowed his descent. Then an arm wrapped it self firmly around his chest. He looked again at the rocks moving slowly towards him.

"Am I dead?" he wondered aloud.

"Not as long as I exist!" Victoria replied her voice full of authority and conviction.

"Sensei?... How?" he asked incredulous as they touched down on a large stone. She pointed the palm of her other hand back down towards the stone and they were blasted back up speeding towards the ledge Aoshi had just jumped off of. With mild fascination he watched as the rock she'd just catapulted them from blasted into pieces.

"Don't ask me how…it isn't as important as why!" the concern and care in her voice seemed to reach him finally as he held on to the arm holding him.

"Then why?" he asked still unable to believe what was happening to him.

"…Because I believe in you Aoshi! There is something inside you that makes you special! I **_know_** that you can be great!" her voice was so full of conviction that he found himself daring to believe her. They were flying towards the house now and his mind reeled with the impossibility of it. The wind on his face soothed his burning soul. As she spoke in her firm and gentle voice he felt as though his soul was carried away from the raging sea of anger and sorrow that he'd been drowning in by two powerful hands.

"Aoshi, true strength is not achieved overnight or through mere fists and weapons. Courage is the first key you'll need on the path to true strength. Courage to face your fears and conquer them! Trust is the next: I know that you can be the strongest! I know you can be the best! But you must _trust_ me and I will show you the way!" she explained and the certainty in her voice made Aoshi forget for a moment all his doubts and fears.

She landed just out of sight of the house. She closed her eyes for a moment to activate with a mental command the device hidden in her bracelet, a device that would help her modify his memory while he slept. Aoshi's eyes closed and he slumped against her. She put one arm under his knees and picked him up then ran towards the house. Hannya was pacing just inside the door and immediately assaulted her with questions.

"He's alright Hannya! Please calm your self," she suggested patiently as they headed up the stairs to Aoshi's room. Aoshi stirred awake for a moment asking where he was and Victoria shushed him gently and bade him sleep. His eyes rolled back into his head and it looked like he would pass out again but his eyes opened and stayed that way while Victoria and Hannya put him into his bed.

She sat on one side of the bed and Hannya sat on the other. Aoshi curled up into a fetal position with his back to his father tears flowing quietly from his eyes. She rubbed his back gently with her right hand and wiped the tears from his face with the left.

"You know an old teacher once told me that tears were baths for the soul. They wash away the grime that fear and hate create and leave our hearts clean and ready for fresh start," she told him in her soft and patient tone. She looked up and reached with her right hand to wipe a tear away from Hannya's face.

"So let your tears come you'll need your hearts to be clean we have a long road ahead of us in the path to becoming the strongest!" she advised her soft and motherly. Aoshi opened his eyes confused for a moment and looked behind him towards his father. He was surprised to see tears falling from his father's eyes. Slowly he turned towards him.

"Aoshi, I'm so sorry…I know I've never been there for you and when you need me most I…" he stopped emotion putting a lid on any words trying to make it out of his throat. Aoshi found himself sitting up with a little help from Victoria. Tentatively Aoshi reached out to him and Hannya immediately pulled the boy into his arms.

"Aoshi I'm so sorry! I **_will_** make it up to you somehow! I promise!" he swore to him fiercely holding his only child tight. Victoria smiled '_the first step is taken_' she thought wiping the tear that escaped her eye. She got up and made to leave.

"Vicky-sensei?" Aoshi's voice soft and shaky stopped her she turned around and smiled patiently at them.

"Yes?" she replied moved by the protective gentle way Hannya was still holding his son.

"Can you really make me the strongest?" he asked softly. Hannya looked up at her hope and desperation clearly in his eyes. She paused for a moment and walked back towards the bed considering how best to respond.

"I can show you the path you'll need to take to becoming the strongest but it is up to you whether you want to walk it!" she replied putting as much confidence and determination into her voice as she could muster. For someone as old and powerful as her it was a simple thing to infuse their battered souls with her own boundless confidence. Aoshi nodded slowly.

"I want to be the strongest…I'll do anything…" Aoshi began softly.

"**_We_** will do anything together Aoshi!" Hannya added firmly. "You can do it Aoshi! I'll help you!" he promised fiercely.

"Many allies you will need on the road to being the strongest!" Victoria interjected smiling at Hannya "I **_know_** you can become the greatest but you must have faith in yourself too!" she reaffirmed patting both Aoshi and Hannya on the back reassuringly she smiled in a motherly way that put them both at ease. She stood again and walked towards the door.

"Get some sleep now both of you and we'll talk in the morning! Good night!" she called back softly as she closed the door behind her. Quietly she went to check on her other charges. Kenshin was sound asleep with his twin curled up next to him. Kurama had refused to move an inch from Kenshin's side since the ordeal and it was a small miracle that their mother Chizuru wasn't there with them. Her brother Hiko had insisted she go home and sleep then pack a few things for the boys in the morning.

Hiko had reassured her that the boys would be safe. What safer place for Kenshin then in the hands of the person who killed or maimed his attackers? She had finally relented and left the boys in her care promising to be back early in the morning. Victoria decided to stay up and wait for Chizuru to return. The boys were all Chizuru had! She had no other family other than her brother Hiko Seiguro and his daughter Tomoe who lived in the US. She could safely bet that Chizuru would be back by 2 or 3 in the morning if not sooner!

She kneeled on the side of the bed and checked Kenshin's temperature. Kurama stirred awake but seeing that it was just Victoria he smiled weakly and went back to sleep. Chizuru's ex-husband was a womanizing bastard who had left her when she was pregnant. He showed up only once in a while when he just wanted a little break from his womanizing and endless partying. He would bring expensive foreign toys and brag about his cool job as an airline pilot and the neat places he traveled to because he could have a captive audience in his sons.

She had called him at his apartment in Kyoto to let him know what happened to the boys but the rat had yet to show himself. Hannya had been livid at the man's lack of response but Victoria had been able to hold him back…for now. She actually hoped the man didn't show up! She feared what Hannya would do to him. Chizuru Himura was Hannya's secretary and had been his wife's best friend since high school.

He considered her and her boys just as much a part of his family as his brothers were and he was very protective of her and her children. To Hannya she had been an invaluable friend when his wife died. She had cared for Aoshi until he was old enough to be sent to school! And every time Aoshi was expelled from yet another private school it was Chizuru who had gone out of her way to make things right! Any mention of her ex-husband Toshizo usually sent him on a rampage of righteous indignation.

In the office Hannya had always found her to be a reliable and competent person and in the nearly twenty years that she'd been his secretary he had found there was no better person for that position. She had a very gentle and optimistic personality however and it caused her to be constantly taken advantage of by her ex-husband whom she was still in love with.

"Sano what are you doing still awake," she said softly approaching Sano's bed. Sano was sitting up in his bed with his knees drawn up and his arms wrapped around them. She sat next to him. Of all the children who were there that night Sano was perhaps the most emotionally scarred…

"He was gonna jump off Maiden's Peak wasn't he?" he asked bitterness and anger dripping from his voice. She didn't answer.

"So stupid! What was I thinking! I shouldn't have left him alone!" he grumbled angrily and smacked his head against his knees.

"No Sano! You can't blame yourself! This was a trial Aoshi alone had to face! He's past it now and he can begin his road to recovery!" she spoke firmly and confidently. She put an arm around Sano's shoulders and pulled him towards her.

"He will need his friends to stand by him and encourage him. Can you do that Sano?" she asked gently. She put both arms around him and just held him as the boy unleashed all his angry bitter tears against her shoulder. He nodded and she held him a while longer until he'd quieted down. She told him Aoshi was with Hannya and that he wasn't going to be alone tonight. Sano finally decided to sleep and pulled himself under the blankets. She stayed with him a little longer reassuring the boy that his friends would be ok.

She got up to leave but went back for a moment to comfort him once more when she realized he was crying again. She hated leaving Sano alone and hoped his father would be back soon. She could understand his frustration! Aoshi and Kenshin weren't just his friends. They were his family…his brothers. When his mother and father died and he was adopted by his father's best friend it had been Kenshin and Aoshi who had first reached out to him. Those had been hard times for him and his two best friends had seen him through it. That night when they needed him not only was he unable to fight to protect them but he was also spared the worst by Aoshi's timely intervention.

She left and went down stairs to the kitchen to prepare some tea for Chizuru's eminent return casting a glance at the clock. It said 1a.m. It was just as well because that way the two women could prepare breakfast for the boys. Sano's mother would probably show up sometime in the morning but since she had little Anzu she would have to find someone to care for her little one first. Most likely that someone would be Kiki who had called several times since hearing of the kidnapping to find out if Aoshi and the boys were alright.

As the pot on the stove came to a boil she felt someone approaching her gate. She walked towards the door but sensing no ill will from the person nearing the house she opened it. She was not surprised to see Shuura making her way slowly and tentatively towards the house. Her parents had called looking for her but since she was not here Sano had asked his father to search for her. She stopped when she saw Victoria and hesitated to approach. Victoria smiled and beckoned her to approach.

"Good evening Shuura," she greeted softly. Quiet tears streamed down the girl's face and she looked like she'd been in at least one fight if not several. Victoria led her to the kitchen. She put a steaming mug of hot chocolate in front of the girl. She left the room for a moment to call Sano's father and Shuura's parents to let them know that she was alright but that it was best for the girl to remain with Victoria for the time being. She returned to the kitchen wordlessly. She made herself a cup of green tea then sat across the table from the girl and waited for Shuura to speak.

"They kept asking me…I couldn't tell…and Kaoru made me so mad!" she began haltingly.

"Thank you for not telling them," Victoria said softly patting Shuura's hand "but something else happened…why don't you tell me?" she prompted gently.

"Stupid Kaoru! She wouldn't stop crying and then she told Misao that maybe Kenshin and Aoshi didn't like them anymore!" she cried desperately.

"I hit her!" Shuura growled bitterly. "I hit her really hard! I've never hit my sister! I can't believe I did that!" she buried her head in her arms and cried desperately. Victoria got up immediately and held the girl as she told her amidst more desperate sobs that she had hit her sister then angrily ran out of her house. She walked aimlessly through the labyrinth of alleys in Domino and ran into a small gang. She beat the living daylights out of them and then continued her way down the alleys trying to decide whether she should go home or come here.

"They're gonna ask me! I know it! …but I can't tell them!" she sobbed quietly into Victoria's chest. Hannya had come down when he heard Shuura's arrival. He knelt next to Shuura.

"Thank you so much Shuura for what you've done to help the boys. It means a great deal to me that you have kept your word," he began solemnly "I can't imagine how hard it was for you. If there is ever a way I can repay you please let me know," Shuura looked up at him then and smiled sadly.

"It's the only thing I can do for them…" she replied sadly.

"Now that's where you're wrong dear! You are a strong and unique young woman and I believe you can be of great help to them!" Victoria interjected.

"Really?" she asked looking up hope lighting her eyes. Victoria smiled confidently.

"You just stick with me! You'll see!" she smiled at Shuura and it seemed to restore the mischievous sparkle in her eyes. She nodded and Victoria sent her up to the master bedroom so she could get some sleep. Victoria explained she had no intention of going back to bed tonight because she was waiting for Chizuru to return. The girl obeyed and went up the stairs not bothering to finish her hot chocolate. Hannya went back up the stairs to check on Aoshi who had fallen asleep almost as soon as Victoria left the room.

* * *

Aoshi, Sano and Kenshin hadn't been the only victims. Every single one of her students had suffered as a consequence of that hateful crime. Even Misao, Keiko and Kaoru had suffered in the backlash because the boys had thrown themselves so wholeheartedly into vengeance that they had left them behind. She suppressed a sigh of regret as Hiei explained to Seto that his father had figured his concern for his friends to be something "unnatural" and that's how he had figured Hiei was gay.

"It was just a lucky guess really. He's just so ridiculously homophobic that he's paranoid!" Hiei added a touch of bitterness starting to creep into his voice. Victoria nodded in agreement.

"Dr. Gensai who treated the boys the horrible night of the kidnapping recognized Hiei at the emergency room where he'd been abandoned unconscious by his mother," Victoria replied bitterly "he called me and I took Hiei home," she explained "Yusuke and Kazuma showed up every day after school but Aoshi, Sano and Kenshin had been exempt from the remainder of the school year due to Hannya's intervention."

"You know what he said to me when I tried to explain what happened…" Hiei spat bitterly "he said: 'Real men don't need to get raped by women they just do what comes naturally! There is just something wrong with that rich pretty boy!'" he quoted angrily "and then he had the nerve to tell me I couldn't go near them ever again! He said a bunch of other stuff that I won't repeat but because I defended my friends he figured there was something wrong with me too!" he concluded anger and frustration overriding his usually calm demeanor.

Seto blinked and stared in surprise. Again he found himself identifying with Aoshi and his friends. He and Hiei had something very much in common. A father they detested! Victoria reached over and patted Hiei in the back reassuringly. Seto studied the board for a moment and made his next move.

"Hiei you and I have something in common…a father we detest!" Seto replied his bitter tone rivaled Hiei's.

"Don't say that…Gozaburo wasn't your real father right?" Victoria interjected. Hiei and Aoshi nodded thoughtfully. Hiei spoke first.

"Maybe your real father was a really nice guy?" Hiei suggested. Seto shrugged and explained his parents had died when he was very young and he remembered almost nothing about them. His family had spent all of his inheritance and then dumped him and his little brother in an orphanage as soon as the money ran out.

"Maybe they were nice people but me and Mokuba will never know…" he shrugged and watched as Aoshi made his move and then spoke.

"How do you figure that you will never know? The resources of Kaiba corp. should give you a great tool for finding out! His high school or college teachers may be able to tell you about him," Aoshi suggested Hiei picked up the thread.

"An old flame that lost touch with him may be willing to share some of her experiences, high school buddies, neighbors they may even have pictures or other mementos of his youth," Hiei added.

"…And won't cost you nearly as much as that nifty high-tech duel dome you built!" Victoria teased. Seto flinched and grumbled angrily under his breath. Pleased with herself Victoria continued…

"Speaking of which…" she added in a slightly annoyed tone.

"…came crashing through my roof the other night and destroyed my beloved couch!" she lectured in a slightly irritated tone. Seto flinched and blushed embarrassed. His new duel dome had gone up in flames during the incident with the Pyramid of Light incident when Anubis had tricked him into nearly destroying the world. Several houses in the nearby neighborhood had reported damage and his insurance company had sent checks out to cover the damages and keep his neighbors from suing him. He remembered that one envelope with a rather large check had come back unopened.

"I sent a check mam…" he began lamely. She rolled her eyes annoyed. Hiei and Aoshi shook they're heads. They knew their sensei best! She didn't need a check but she was a psycho about proper etiquette. As long as you said you were sorry (like you meant it!) and did it in the proper manner. She would let things go easily enough. If Seto sent just an impersonal envelope with just a check in it Aoshi was surprised she didn't do anything more drastic than just send the check back!

"Ok first of all drop the "mam" thing! I hate it when people call me that! Second: I don't need a check sonny! My yearly dollar signs are bigger then all three of your mighty broody powers combined! Third: What I want and still expect is you to write me a very nice polite letter telling me you're very sorry that you destroyed my house and nearly crushed my poor old ass to death and promise you'll try not to do it again! _That_ is what I want!" she lectured seriously. He nodded seriously.

"It can be arranged…" he replied seriously.

"Sensei I'm surprised you didn't do anything else about it before now," Aoshi commented.

"Oh well! That's because I went into the Kaiba corp. mainframe and I saw some very interesting things going on! I'll tell you all about it some time!" she replied cheerfully. Seto frowned he wasn't aware of a break in on Kaiba Corp's computer network!

"And before you say word young man I'll have you know that flaming pieces of concrete crashing into my house and nearly killing me give me full rights to investigate!" she reprimanded Seto sternly. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a new voice.

"Hey Guys! How's it hangin'!" Shuura greeted cheerfully. Seto looked up at Shuura; his eyes went wide and he jumped nearly ten feet in the air…


	10. Intermission: Part I

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu-Yu Hakusho, Hikaru no Go, Stargate SG1 or Slayers.

The Slayers characters mentioned here are the au versions of my buddy JRhaye from her story called: Life and Lemonade. My version of Shuura the pirate girl from Kenshin recently did a brief guest spot on her latest chapter and so now she will give the report to her boss Aoshi. However this chapter is not an integral piece of the story so if you wish to skip it you will miss nothing more than an opportunity to embarrass Seto!

Jrhaye'sstories can be found in my favorites under my profile. Check them out if you can!

* * *

**To be the Strongest**

**Intermission I: Snow day! The guys take a short break to talk to Shuura…**

* * *

"Hey Guys! How's it hangin'!" Shuura greeted cheerfully. Seto looked up at Shuura; his eyes went wide and he jumped nearly ten feet in the air! Aoshi rolled his eyes. It was no surprise that Shuura caused Seto alarm. She had a way with people sometimes…

"Hello Shuura," Aoshi greeted calmly as Shuura slapped him on the back affectionately. Hiei smiled and got up to hug the youngest Kamiya sister. Shuura stepped over Aoshi to greet Hiei and then their teacher with a hug. She sat down and chugged down the rest of Hiei's beer.

"So what did I miss?" she asked cheerfully. Aoshi rolled his eyes 'she has a way with people…'

"Not much…" Hiei replied calmly "I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow?" he asked but watched with hidden amusement out of the corner of his eye as Seto very carefully returned to his seat watching Shuura as though she were something poisonous.

"The student exchange kid's flight got delayed so I picked up Aoshi's uncles from Tokyo and brought them down here!" she answered in a bright and cheerful tone.

"I left the Mazaki's at your place Aoshi. They thought she might come in sometime tonight so they'll go pick her up! I'll go back for them in the morning," she added at the questioning look on Aoshi's face. Not being able to stand her curiosity any longer Victoria asked the obvious question.

"Alright! I'm sure we're all dying to know what it is you did to Seto to have him react to you as if he's sitting a foot away from a deadly cobra!" she asked a stern tone in her voice.

"Nothing…" Shuura answered innocently. Aoshi frowned and gave her a stern look

"Shuura…" he glared at her suspiciously and Shuura just rolled her eyes. Seto grumbled angrily and to Aoshi's surprise he blushed! Victoria turned a serious look on Shuura.

"Shuura you were supposed to be nice to him when you picked up Mai! What did you do!" she intoned gravely.

"What was I supposed to do! He invaded my personal space! I warned him to step back!" she defended herself. Aoshi flinched and shook his head. Hiei sat back on his chair, sighed heavily and massaged the bridge of his nose. Bad things always happened to people who came within an arm's reach of Shuura without invitation. Aoshi knew she had a handful of favorite moves she liked to use and all of them were very painful to ones nether regions…especially if you were male!

"What did you do?" Victoria repeated firmly.

"I didn't hurt him! At least I don't think I did? I wasn't that rough on you was I?" she asked Seto uncertainly. To Aoshi and Hiei's further astonishment Seto barely shook his head and he blushed an even deeper shade of red!

"See! I told you!" she crowed triumphantly. Victoria still gave her a stern look.

"So why am I not reassured?" she gave the woman a stern look and Shuura shrunk a bit. She sighed and finally began recounting what had happened on the day she was sent to pick up Mai after the girl failed to qualify for the battle city finals. She was told by Victoria to wait until Kaiba's airship (where the Battle city semi-finals were being hosted) landed on Kaiba corp. Island but Shuura couldn't wait until then so she flew one of Aoshi's company helicopters out and landed it on the duel deck on top of the airship while the blimp was still in flight!

Needless to say Seto had not appreciated at all that Shuura had disregarded his pilot's firm warning to back off. Worst of all was the fact that she had landed on his expensive high-tech duel deck! Granted Shuura was an excellent pilot and managed to land the small two-seater helicopter in the duel deck without causing it any damage but Seto didn't like it when people didn't jump to obey his commands.

"Ok! He was in my face yelling at me to get off his ship like he's Capt. Kirk or something! So I did something to make him back off!" she concluded unable to keep the amused tone from her voice. Victoria struggled to keep a straight face but succeeded in the end.

"…and without hurting him!" she added proudly but she wilted under Victoria's stern look.

"You weren't supposed to be on the airship in the first place?" Victoria scolded sternly and Shuura deflated slightly. "Shuura what did you do?" she asked again. She sounded stern but Aoshi could see the twinkle of merriment in her eyes.

"I was gonna be late for my assignment! You know how my _boss_ is when I'm late! Besides Mai wouldn't have made it to your photo shoot on time!" she defended herself dodging the subject again.

"Can we change the subject?" Seto grumbled under his breath still blushing fiercely. Aoshi was almost burning with curiosity! Shuura obviously hadn't used her martial arts so what could she have done to upset Seto this way? He decided he would wait and find out later and for now he would come to Seto's rescue.

"So how was the new year's eve mission in Colorado?" Aoshi asked veering the subject away from the airship confrontation. Shuura shrugged

"It was pretty quiet…" Shuura commented. She had recently been dispatched to Colorado to protect a girl by the name of Amelia Seyruun who along with her sister and father was being targeted for assassination by some unknown faction in connection with the last case her deceased mother – who had been a district attorney – was working. The job took place during the New Year's Eve holiday. Shuura normally spent the holidays with her family and her close friends but made an exception because it was for her friend Zelgadis and he seemed in desperate need.

"I hardly had anything to do! Zelgadis showed up anyways and apparently there was some drama going on between him and Amelia but that got cleared up by New Year's Eve," she complained. Her eyes lit up as the maid brought more beers and a fresh tray of hors d'oeuvres. She took a drink and popped a little cheese cracker in her mouth. Hiei did the same. The maid took Aoshi and Seto's empty glasses and put down new ones filled with fresh iced tea. Shuura began recounting the details of her working holiday.

Victoria frowned she did not like the thought of any of her kids getting involved with the Seyruun case. She never interfered with how Aoshi ran Oniwaban Protective Services but she did try to keep her students clear of heavily charged political situations. Chasing after a few terrorists and their suppliers – namely Kanryu and Gozaburo – was all fine and did no one any serious harm but the Seyruun affair had heavy political ramifications that involved people of high level in the governments of several countries.

Oniwaban is a small group with a charged enough rap sheet that they could be used as patsy's for those bastards gunning after the Seyruun family if they weren't careful. She had met Philionel many years ago and she would admit he is a nice guy but she had not liked _any_ of his brothers! She had been impressed with his wife however she seemed very bright and confident and what happened to her was tragic. She had respected her enough to attend her funeral but she hadn't known the Seyruuns well enough to stick around.

His eldest daughter Gracia – or Naga as she liked to call herself – was an accomplished designer and she would've invited her to be in her catalogue if it weren't for their current problems. The girl's table manners also left much to be desired and she was rather strict when it came to that sort of thing. The youngest daughter Amelia showed much promise but had yet to do anything of note and she was known to be a prude! She doubted that the perky little girl would be as willing as her sister to pose in her underwear for an international catalogue!

"So tell me again why Mr. Greywords required your assistance?" she asked a little annoyed. She was also well aware of Zelgadis' record and knew him to be quite capable of handling the situation without any of her kids getting involved. It had irked her that Zelgadis needed to call her for something he could've done himself just fine! She had no interest in the Seyruuns right now as interesting people as they were they were not descendents of her child. She had _bigger_ problems. In the end she only cared for the safety and well-being of _her_ kids. No one else mattered to her…

"He got shot up! Nearly died protecting Amelia…He's still recovering," Shuura answered taking another sip of her drink but her answer didn't seem to satisfy Victoria.

"Then if he was still recovering how did he end up going to the ski trip anyway?" Victoria countered irked. Seto had forgotten his earlier discomfiture and listened intently.

"Because he was having some drama with the _cute _girl he was supposed to be secretly protecting!" she smiled mischievously. Victoria arched her elegant eyebrow and exchanged an amused look with Shuura who shot Aoshi a quick meaningful look. The two women suddenly laughed sharing in a private joke. Aoshi glared at them suspiciously.

"I'm sorry boys! Allow me to explain!" Victoria offered.

"You see Mr. Greywords was assigned to covertly protect Mr. Seyruun's youngest daughter. However, in the process of spending time with Amelia and getting to know the girl he has fallen in love with her and as is typical of broody boys when they fall in love the first thing they usually do is run for cover! Am I correct dear?" she explained with a knowing look on her face as she turned to Shuura.

"I don't know how you do it Sensei?" Shuura replied and laughed. "Yeah, he was definitely in severe denial! He didn't stay that way for long though!" she laughed.

"Anyway…It was the easiest paycheck ever! Aspen's my turf anyways!" she concluded with a shrug. Victoria nodded and relaxed. Aspen and Big Bear were indeed Shuura's favorite haunts. She spent every minute she could in either place skiing and snowboarding, occasionally giving free classes to local kids with few resources as her bit for the community. She was something of a local celebrity over there.

"Oh by the way! Jack says Hi! He wants to know when you're coming to visit him again!" Shuura cheerfully added. Col. Jack O'Neill was a US Air force pilot currently stationed in a base in Colorado Springs. Jack had once been a black ops officer and Aoshi had met him during a botched op in the deserts of the Middle East where they were captured by terrorists.

They had escaped together and been friends since occasionally running into each other during Jack's missions because they would coincide with Aoshi's. Or they would just visit each other on random occasions at Victoria's urging. Currently Jack was working on something so top secret that not even Sensei's white house contacts would tell her what it was!

"Maybe next month…We haven't been on vacation for nearly a year…Perhaps for Valentine's day…" Aoshi thought out loud. He relished the thought of torturing Misao's manager with this spur of the moment idea. Valentine's was two weeks away! They could use his timeshare in Aspen and then go down to Colorado Springs for a day and spend time with his friend. Jack had very literally disappeared for a while after his son accidentally shot himself with Jack's service revolver and he was glad that he could be in contact with him again.

Aoshi had thought he had retired and for a while he had even thought he had died. Jack was not in a good place when Charlie died but there was nothing Aoshi could do. Even his sensei had seemed horribly lost at little Charlie's funeral. She closed herself off completely from him for several days. Jack left his wife and disappeared. He returned no phone calls or letters for nearly a year and it was only through Sensei's contacts that Aoshi knew he was still alive. He eventually stopped trying to contact him.

Strangely enough his sensei asked him to back off of Jack and let him deal with it on his own. His sensei never said things like that! She always encouraged him to stick with his friends and be there for them especially in difficult times. But that death rattled her for some reason that she did not share. She spent a few days with Jack's wife Sarah and they still occasionally talked to each other. His father had mentioned that maybe she and Sarah had acquired something in common on the day Charlie died and in that case there was nothing they could do. To this day he had yet to find out the answer…

"Oh that's so sickeningly cute! Jack will love it!" Shuura exclaimed shifting Aoshi out of his silent reminiscence. "Hey maybe I'll come along and visit with Daniel!" she suggested. Aoshi frowned. Jack's new friend Daniel Jackson was a rather shy archeologist. Shuura's forwardness always seemed to put him on edge! They had met Daniel when Aoshi went to rescue Misao from that cult that had kidnapped her in Seattle last year and he still didn't understand why the Air force needed an archeologist but he'd been able to keep in contact with Jack again since then.

"Besides I promised Teal'c I would take him snowboarding next time I came down!" she explained. Seto looked from Aoshi to Shuura and then back again wondering who in the world these people were. He was starting to feel a little miffed at being left out of the loop. Aoshi must have guessed because he spoke next.

"Daniel and Teal'c are Jack O'Neill's new friends we met them last year in Seattle and if you recall you met Jack briefly a few years back when the two of us came to have a few words with Gozaburo," Aoshi explained calmly. Seto nodded and smirked slightly. Yes, he remembered Jack. He had seemed like a nice guy and had made some crack about how serious kids were in Japan.

"Yes I do remember…He mentioned he had a son my age…" Seto began but stopped as everyone went completely silent. Aoshi looked down at the board, Hiei was more serious than usual and even Shuura's and Victoria's smiles disappeared.

"Jack's son accidentally shot himself with Jack's service revolver five years ago," Aoshi explained softly. Seto's eyes went wide with shock. Aoshi explained how he'd been out of touch with Jack for a while since then but Victoria suddenly changed the subject. Seto stared in confusion at her sudden shift. He opened his mouth to ask something but Aoshi shook his head slightly signaling him to hold his question.

"Shuura did you say you flew Hyotoko and Shikijo in from Tokyo today?" she asked suddenly. Shuura jumped to it.

"Yep sure did!" she answered quickly. "Bessimi was already at the Shinomori house having tea with the old man!"

"In fact the old man got tired of sitting around waiting for us _kids_ to show up so they invited them selves along!" Shuura added cheerfully. Aoshi looked up surprised.

"Father is here?" he asked looking around.

"Yeah! He went to go find the princess!" Shuura answered smiling again. Aoshi nodded not surprised that his father and his uncles would go straight to look for Misao first! He explained as much to Seto. Hiei laughed

"That is what's called the: "Daddy's little girl" syndrome in full effect!" Hiei explained amused. Hannya and his "brothers" had always been charmed by Misao and doted on her as if she were one of their own. Hannya was the worst of the lot and had been the happiest of them all when Aoshi finally brought Misao home as his fiancée.

"Speak of the devil…" Victoria said the hint of constant amusement back in her voice. Seto looked up to see four men along with his little brother, Sano, Kenshin, Kaoru and of course Misao headed their way. Misao skipped ahead of the group and again settled herself happily on Aoshi's lap. To Seto's utter amazement his little brother was being carried towards them by a huge man!

Hannya laughed as he approached. Aoshi looked like he was torn between wanting to get up to greet his family and staying where he was with his Misao in his arms. Hannya signaled for him to stay where he was then approached him and patted him on the shoulder. Seto was astonished at how close their resemblance was! Hannya though had gray hair and brown eyes and was obviously much older and maybe a couple of inches shorter.

Seto did get up as did Hiei to greet the older men. His little brother introduced them enthusiastically and Seto felt he almost lost a lung when Hyotoko and Shikijo patted him on the back. He shook hands with the shortest one of them who was about as tall as Yugi then retook his place at the board. They nearly tripped over themselves – with the exception of Hannya – to reach Victoria and greet her as she stood from her chair. Seto worried for a moment that Hyotoko would drop his little brother but the man had great balance as well as strength and managed to easily keep Mokuba aloft while he bent down to hug Victoria.

"Back already Victoria? I didn't expect you for another week!" Hannya remarked as hugged her. Victoria just smiled and shrugged.

"Hey Hannya! It figures you two would know brainy old people games!" Hyotoko teased in his huge booming voice as Bessimi and Hannya examined the board. Only Bessimi and Hannya seemed to know anything about Go as they remarked that black was losing. Aoshi just shrugged…

"Old! Speak for your self!" retorted Hannya. Seto laughed along with the others in spite of himself. Aoshi's uncles were easy to like! And surprisingly enough so was his father! He wasn't at all what he expected…none of them were in fact!

Hyotoko who was the biggest one of the bunch was an old Yokozuna and he was quite famous. Shikijo the second largest was a karate instructor and owned a large and very popular dojo in Tokyo. Hannya had been trying to get him to open up a franchise because of the popularity of his school but he refused to as he put it "sell out". Bessimi the smallest brother of them all at 5'3" had a weird creepy look that came in handy during tough negotiations in his position as V.P of Sales and Marketing for Shinomori Electronics.

Hyotoko put Mokuba down and the boy skipped over to his brother's chair and sat on the armrest. Hannya leaned calmly against the back of Aoshi's chair as his brothers spread about the broody corner and tried to tease Aoshi. Aoshi for his part seemed completely at peace. Seto envied him for a moment. He wished he could feel that at ease sometimes…

"Hannya your girlfriend stopped by my house before I left! She sent some pictures of her new grandbaby! I have them in my car!" she informed him but for some reason Seto could've sworn there was a twinkle of mischief in her eyes for a moment. Hannya looked interested for a moment then just shrugged as if it was no big deal.

"I can look at them later, thanks," he replied sounding non-chalant but something told Seto that the information bothered Hannya somehow. Victoria shook her head. The maid appeared then to ask the new arrivals what they wanted to drink. Shikijo spoke for Hannya

"Anything that's not alcoholic for Hannya! Otherwise we'll never hear the end of it!" Shikijo complained. Aoshi's eyes went wide and he shook his head trying to get his uncle's attention.

"Butt out brother!" Hannya warned seriously. Misao looked from one to the other and wondered aloud why the sudden showdown. Aoshi just shook his head and was about to say something when Victoria came to his rescue.

"Hannya, Tak's son is here. Why don't we go say hi?" she suggested cheerfully diverting everyone's attention from the subject and again Seto did not miss the mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

'She meant to start this confrontation!' Seto thought alarmed 'but why?' he wondered as they all cheerfully followed Victoria. She beckoned for Mokuba and Misao to follow and Misao gave Aoshi a quick kiss then skipped after her. Aoshi exchanged a suspicious glance with Shuura and Hiei and the two hopped off their chairs and followed the group. Shuura passed in front of Seto's chair and stopped for a moment. She leaned down and smiled sweetly…

"Thanks for throwing a party Seto!" She said sweetly her face about a foot away from his. Aoshi couldn't see the boy's face but he could tell that he was pressed against the back of the chair and he was gripping the armrests so hard his knuckles were white! Hiei rolled his eyes and Aoshi realized that Mokuba was trying very hard not to laugh.

"See you guys later!" she called back with a wink towards Seto. Mokuba covered his mouth and rushed away! Shuura sauntered away with his sensei warning her that she would extract the whole story from her sooner or later! Aoshi shook his head then turned to Seto and to his surprise…no…downright shock actually! Seto was blushing furiously again!

"That woman is crazy!" he complained nervously as he looked at the board.

"Yes I agree! However in a tight spot I can always count on her to save the day," he countered pensively still mystified by Seto's reaction. Seto looked up his face still a little flushed but the nervousness was replaced by curiosity.

"She is the best pilot in my employ and has an uncanny knack for showing up right when you need her most. Her fearless attitude has saved the lives of many of my men and my own countless times," he explained seriously then smirked "even though she's reckless and mischievous she is a great ally and a good friend."

"I see…" Seto replied thoughtfully. Aoshi's friends were a hard bunch to peg! They were never what they appeared to be. He had figured Shuura for some spoiled daredevil with a penchant for disregarding authority and again he was wrong just like with Sanosuke and Kenshin. He decided he'd hold any further judgments until he'd heard the entire story! So he went ahead and changed the subject.

"Aoshi I hope you don't mind my asking…but…what was that between your uncle and your father before?" he asked hesitantly.

"Oh right…" Aoshi thought about it for a second and then decided to explain.

"Well, father has a girlfriend in the US. Her name is Emi and she has a son named Hajime in the Marine Corp. He is happily married and has two children now since the second one was born recently. When father drinks he'll complain _at length_ that he has no grandchildren and she does _and_ she's younger than him!" Aoshi explained with an amused smirk tugging at one side of his mouth for a moment.

"I don't see what the big deal is…" Seto began uncertain as to where Aoshi was going with this. He was surprised to learn the old man had a girlfriend though!

'I guess you're never too old!' he thought amused.

"The big deal is that Misao doesn't know that. If she did she would feel pressured into something she isn't ready for…I don't want that," he sighed. Seto then noticed the flicker of disappointment in his eyes.

"Misao calls herself my fiancée but she really hasn't made up her mind about it. I promised her I wouldn't rush her or pressure her into a decision. I want her to feel comfortable with whatever choices she makes," he explained "Hiei and Shuura understand my feelings so that's why they followed them they're always watching my six," he added with a smirk. Seto nodded.

"Of course…and your father hides his discontent about not having grandchildren so as to not scare her off," Seto reasoned. Aoshi nodded solemnly.

"But Aoshi…I think Victoria instigated that confrontation…" Seto began cautiously not wanting to step Aoshi's toes with such a personal matter especially since he wasn't one hundred percent sure. Aoshi just smirked amused.

"Yes, Sensei is very good at manipulating events to suit her tastes! She mentioned on New Year's Eve that Misao was dragging her feet and she was starting to get tired of waiting," he explained then chuckled amused "Sensei's very good at getting what she wants!"

"Do you think she's right?" Seto asked "Victoria I mean…" he clarified at Aoshi's confused look. He had a feeling Victoria knew something neither one of them did. He wondered if perhaps her intervention was what his new friend needed! Aoshi nodded.

"She does have an uncanny way of knowing what you need before you realize you need it…At any rate she's never been wrong before so I will trust her judgment in this," Aoshi concluded setting another stone on the board and capturing one of Seto's stones.

"For now let us continue…" Aoshi said his mind drifting back in time again forcing himself to temporarily banish the doubts and fears Misao's indecision caused him to continue telling Seto his story…

* * *

Well, that is Shuura! And the rest of Aoshi's family! This chapterI dedicate to JRhaye who will most likely twitch when she sees all the missing periods! I did it all for you my friend!

Thanks for reading and reviewing!


	11. Intermission: Part II

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu-Yu Hakusho, Hikaru no Go, Stargate SG1 or Slayers.

Ok, Pirates of the Caribbean is coming out soon so I decided to do this little intermission and tell a funny story about Shuura the pirate girl from Kenshin or at least my AU version of her! The story happens just after Mai loses to Marik in Battle City however I changed the outcome to my liking!

* * *

**To be the Strongest**

**Intermission II: Seto tells a pirate story!**

* * *

"For now let us continue…" Aoshi said his mind drifting back in time again. Temporarily banishing the doubts and fears Misao's indecision caused him to continue telling Seto his story. Just then the contagious rhythms and sonorous voice of Celia Cruz – the queen of salsa – blasted from the speaker system of the Kaiba Mansion's ballroom. Aoshi looked up and sighed.

"I'm sorry Seto but I'm not going to be able to get out of this!" he said with an apologetic smirk as he got up from his chair. Seto frowned confused.

"Where are you going?" he asked as he turned and saw Misao hurrying towards them with a big grin on her face.

"I'll be back in a few minutes…" he sighed. Seto got up and followed out of sheer curiosity. Misao caught up with them halfway and grabbing both Seto and Aoshi by the wrist she pulled them faster towards the rest of the partygoers. Seto sat down in between Hiei and Yugi rolling his eyes at the stupid look on Yugi's face as he watched Anzu dance with her brother.

Seto watched in astonished silence as the scene unfolded. Sano danced with his little sister while Yugi looked on at the verge of drooling. Hannya had been coaxed off the couch by Shuura. Kurama danced with Victoria and Hiei seemed grateful to have escaped that fate. Jou was receiving some rudimentary instruction on how to dance salsa from Mai and it seemed like that mutt had finally found his calling.

Most people had in fact paired off and cheerfully danced. The most amazing sight in Seto's mind however was Aoshi! Aoshi whose body moved in perfect synch with both his partner and the musical tones of Celia Cruz; a musical choice put forth by Victoria.

As the utter shock wore off he noticed that this form of salsa dancing was different than what he'd seen in American movies. There was still a lot quick footed movements and hip swaying but it looked like the emphasis was more on using up energy than promoting hormonal responses like the sexed up versions in American movies. And that seemed a bit odd to him so he made a mental note to ask Aoshi (the master salsa dancer!) later when he continued his story.

Mokuba was pulled in with Misao and Aoshi as they tried to teach the boy how to dance. Seto realized then that this form allowed for anyone to be able to jump in and didn't restrict the dance to pairs. Sano, Kenshin, Aoshi and Mokuba ended up in a line side by side matching each others movements as the girls in front of them mirrored their side-stepping, hip swaying movements. He growled in heavy annoyance as he realized that Yugi's already goofy look became even worse and he sighed dreamily every now and then.

"Can you please not do that!" Seto growled annoyed asking himself for the millionth time how this little dork could possibly be the "King of Games"! Yugi just sighed dreamily and ignored him. His brother started casting excited looks his way and he realized he was suddenly in extreme danger of being pulled in!

'Oh no! Must escape!' he inwardly hollered. He cast about looking for a way out. It didn't take long for the cheerleader and her brother to pull Yugi along with them. He did not resist…

"Um…Hiei…I think I'm going to check on the staff…" Seto beginning to get up from the couch Hiei put a hand on his shoulder.

"Better not move from this couch…If you come within a foot of the dancers you'll be pulled in…There will be no escape!" he intoned seriously. Seto blanched slightly. Hiei watched him for a second then laughed.

"Relax Seto…Aoshi won't allow them to pull you in! You haven't been properly trained yet…" he added with a smirk but Seto relaxed.

"Hiei why does Aoshi know how to do that?" he asked completely mystified.

"Sensei tricked us!" Hiei laughed. He explained that long ago when they spent their first summer in California with Sensei she had tricked them into dancing lessons because she convinced them that it was a good way to improve their martial arts training quickly.

"I can't believe you bought that!" Seto laughed and Hiei laughed too.

"Back then we were willing to believe anything she said! Besides it's like Aoshi said the dancing, the karaoke and so many other things were just Sensei's efforts to keep us human," he explained with a far away look in his eyes.

"Did it work?" Seto asked softly.

"You'll get a chance to find out for yourself," Hiei replied. Seto smiled and the two of them watched as Hiei explained Sensei was a bit old school when it came to salsa dancing and she preferred this way because according to her it was the "proper" way. As Celia's number finally came to an end and they switched to techno Aoshi finally dislodged himself from his beloved and joined Hiei and Seto. Then the three headed back to their "Broody Boy Corner".

"Hiei…I thought you were watching Aoshi's six?" Seto asked confused. Hiei sighed.

"…An impossible task today! Sensei is in full "scheming old lady" mode!" Hiei replied seriously. Aoshi frowned deeply. This didn't seem like the time for Sensei to be scheming ways to get Misao to make up her mind and stop stringing him along. But Sensei had her own agendas sometimes and it didn't matter what anyone said once she had an idea in her head there was no stopping her!

"I think she recruited Shuura and Mai too…" Hiei added solemnly. Aoshi sighed and shook his head as they took their seat.

"She's never been wrong before Hiei…" he said simply and Hiei agreed silently.

"Umm…speaking of Shuura…" Seto began uncertainly. Hiei and Aoshi turned to him with interest noting the blush that was creeping back into Seto's face. Neither had pressed Seto for details about what happened and he respected them for that but they had been honest with him so it was only right that Seto reciprocate. Besides Shuura's presence confused him and having no male adults in his life that he could trust enough to ask for advice he figured Aoshi and Hiei would do in this case.

"What about her?" Hiei asked calmly. Aoshi's face was in his trademark cold serious look.

"Seto if Shuura mistreated you in any way…"

"No! She didn't! Trust me!" Seto cut him off instantly. He wasn't sure why he wanted suddenly to protect Shuura from Aoshi's wrath when he had been so angry with her before and plotted all sorts of revenge! Well at least he thought he was angry...Seeing her again though he wasn't so sure what his fascination with the woman was all about!

"Well let me start at the beginning with the match between Marik and your cousin Mai…" Seto began.

* * *

Seto watched in impassive silence as Mai shivered in response to Marik's mind games. He shook his head in disappointment. He would've expected more gumption out of someone who was related to Aoshi Shinomori! When he was doing research on the possible participants of his Battle City Tournament he was rather shocked to find out that Mai was the youngest daughter of Hannya Shinomori's only sister. Mai had an older sister that died when Mai was ten in a car accident. The details on the accident were sketchy and he suspected there was more to it but he didn't care enough to find out.

'What a shame! I was hoping for a better showing…' he thought to himself disillusioned. Mai had a reputation for being sharp witted and ruthless and Seto respected her for it. She was one of the few duelists he would've considered at his level but to see her reduced to near tears in a pathetic emotional state caused by Marik's mind games was frustrating to say the least.

'She should learn a lesson from this defeat and stop hanging around the loser squad!' he thought harshly already planning to remove her from future invitation lists. Just then something changed in her eyes and her entire demeanor shifted.

"Who the hell do you think you are!" she yelled at him with a ferocity that surprised Seto. With a speed and grace he'd never seen in any of the mercs that called themselves his bodyguards Mai flew towards Marik. A well placed spin kick that made Marik drop the Millennium Rod was followed swiftly by strong punch to Marik's chest he stumbled backwards and his lower back hit the railing hard. Mai took a step towards him and grabbing a fist full of Marik's vest she followed that punch with another jab into his face that bloodied Marik's nose.

"Well this is an interesting development…" Seto thought amused but his respect for Mai returned with even a small measure of gratitude for her small demonstration of her family heritage. Marik's eyes widened with fear and his mouth opened to allow a tiny yelp to escape his lips as Mai's fist barreled into his face once more. He noted Marik's rod on the ground and picked it up. He watched with mild amusement as Mai's fist reared back once more preparing to show Marik her version of the shadow realm: Unconsciousness!

"Figures!" Seto grumbled annoyed. To his disappointment Marik was spared by the unlikely intervention of Katsuya! He held on tight to Mai and pulled her back and by the effort Jou seemed to put into it Mai was tougher than she looked! He advised her that Marik was not worth the trouble and for once the mutt was right. Beating Marik to a bloody pulp – while fun to watch – was completely useless.

Roland declared a time out and lowered the dueling platform and Mai returned to her end of the arena. Jou followed her there and Seto rolled his eyes in annoyance at the idiotic look of awe on Jou's face. As he and Roland studied the Millennium Rod Seto figured out a way to keep Mai from being disqualified after all he wanted to make sure he could see the Winged Dragon of Ra in play before he had to face it himself. Roland returned to the platform.

"Well! Is she disqualified?" Marik snarled angrily pushing away the Kaiba medic tending to his injured face.

"You are both disqualified," Roland answered calmly and Jou predictably yelled and screamed with outrage in Mai's defense to the point that Roland had to threaten to disqualify him too if he didn't shut up and get off the deck. Mai laughed and said something to him that made him smile and blush stupidly and once more Seto rolled his eyes in annoyance. He was pleased though to see Mai stare down Marik and Marik shrunk back nervously and averted his gaze.

Roland calmly explained to the two duelists that assaulting your opponent with anything other than your deck was strictly forbidden according to Battle City rules. It was also forbidden to use weapons in duels. The only items allowed in a duel were your deck and your duel disk. The ax-like shape of the Millennium Rod was determined to be a deadly weapon. Even though Mai was justified in her self defense she was still being sanctioned for not following proper procedure and lodging a formal complaint with a Battle City official.

"Mr. Kaiba will allow the duel to continue only on the condition that Ms. Kujacu refrains from further assaults and Mr. Ishtar's illegal item remain confiscated until the end of the tournament," he concluded gravely. Mai nodded in agreement of the terms as she readjusted her duel disk and reshuffled her deck. She smirked mischievously as Marik hesitated.

"What's the matter Marik? Can't win without your little toy?" she taunted and laughed in that obnoxious and grating manner that was uniquely Mai! Seto smirked glad that Mai was back to her old self again. Marik growled angrily and finally accepted the terms…

* * *

"Well it's nice to know Mai acquitted herself well," Hiei noted calmly. Aoshi shook his head solemnly.

"She still lost…Sensei will never let her off the hook!" Aoshi replied seriously.

At the confused look on Seto's face Aoshi explained. When Mai lost in duelist kingdom she was advised by Sensei that it was time to leave the games behind. She needed to be trained properly to take place within the Shinomori clan. She argued that it was a fluke and that she would win next time. Sensei made a bet with her that if she did not win on the next tournament she would have to let go of formal Duel Monsters competitions and train under Aoshi's supervision.

"Furthermore she will be required to pose as a model for Sensei's catalogue for at least a year because she didn't make it past the semifinals!" Aoshi elaborated. Seto shook his head allowing just a trace of pity for Mai. A whole year of being photographed in your underwear could not be fun! Then something else occurred to him.

"Oh please don't tell Katsuya! The last thing I want is his drool ruining my furniture!" Seto groaned. Jou's infatuation with Mai was so obvious even he had noticed. He told as much to Aoshi who in turn regarded him solemnly.

"Hmm, I shall look into that," he said seriously. After all Mai was his precious little cousin and he treated her like any over-protective brother would his little sister. Case in point that John Claude Magnum guy who was chasing Mai around not long ago and put her in danger just before the battle city semifinals received a very ugly welcome at his hotel suite by Aoshi and Hiei. Any and all boys coming near his little cousin were carefully scrutinized by Aoshi and company! And woe be tide if you didn't pass muster!

"To be fair though the only time I have ever seen the mutt duel well was when he was dueling for her!" Seto added unable to understand why he was suddenly sticking his neck out for yet another person he supposedly hated. Aoshi and Hiei looked surprised and Seto explained their ordeal with his supposed other brother Noah and the duels they had all engaged in to save their lives. Both duels that Jou had engaged in during the virtual reality struggle against Noah he'd dedicated to her and had won in both. Aoshi watched him calmly and exchanged a calculating look with Hiei.

"Still, it looks like I'll have to invite Mr. Katsuya for tea some time…" Aoshi said softly. Seto shrugged he'd done what he could for Katsuya the rest was up to him. However it would be interesting to see if the mutt could stand up to the close scrutiny of these men. If he did he would start re-evaluating the mutt. He decided to get on with his story.

"So anyway she dueled admirably but her deck was no match for a god card like The Winged Dragon of Ra," he continued calmly.

"My holographic technology is not really dangerous but the god cards can still give you a nasty headache! She would've been slammed if the mutt hadn't turned himself into a human shield!" Seto added once more unconsciously defending someone who he hated. He frowned as he placed another stone on the board. Hiei laughed.

"You know Aoshi… Kurama told me once that when you and Sano first met you hated him! You used to call him the idiot rooster head!" he said. Aoshi laughed.

"It's true! Mrs. Chizuru – Kurama and Kenshin's mother – used give me time outs for name calling all the time!" Aoshi elaborated for Seto's benefit. Seto frowned.

"No…they are not alike…" Seto countered seriously refusing to accept the parallels that the more logical part of his brain had already made. Hiei and Aoshi just shrugged.

"Probably not…" Hiei replied calmly but the look in the man's eyes suggested otherwise.

"Definitely not! Anyway…" Seto asserted switching back to telling his story. No, Jou was a useless, obnoxious mutt as far as Seto was concerned. Not his friend…

* * *

Marik headed toward the exit at the opposite side of the duel platform. He glared angrily at Seto but Seto merely smirked back. To Marik's surprise as they passed each other Seto returned the millennium rod.

"I wouldn't try anything against her again if I were you," Seto taunted as he stopped on his way to the duel platform.

"Is that a threat Kaiba!" Marik glared. Seto merely chuckled mockingly.

"Moron! She's the only cousin of Aoshi Shinomori!" he laughed in the mocking tone Seto was famous for. Marik's eyes went wide and fear drained all the blood from his face. Marik was well aware of Aoshi's deadly reputation. Seto continued to chuckle mockingly as he walked away from him. He was certain Marik understood what fate would befall him if he should mess with someone like Shinomori! He promised himself that one day people would tremble when they heard the name Seto Kaiba too!

"I'd love to see you try your silly little mind tricks on him!" he teased as he walked away towards his duel with Ishizu – Marik's sister! She proved to be more of a challenge than he anticipated and he didn't like her trying to play tricks with his mind. He defeated her and decided he disliked Ishizu as much as he disliked her brother. That opinion had not changed at all! Kaiba Corp. security personnel were ordered to turn them away and forbid them access to any of his properties. They could be as nasty as they wanted!

After he exchanged the usual threats with Yugi he and Mokuba adjourned. Seto sat down to spend the rest of the evening analyzing the data and preparing for the inevitable showdown against Yugi and Marik and their respective god cards: Slifer and Ra…

* * *

"Mai called and I asked Shuura to go get her. She was supposed to wait until the blimp landed though… She must've overridden me to get Mai to go snowboarding with her before the shoot," Aoshi explained solemnly at this point.

"Yes, Shuura will do anything to be out on the slopes!" Hiei agreed.

"I paused in my research when my captain called and said that there was a helicopter approaching so I went to investigate," Seto continued.

* * *

"This is the SE-17. Capt. Kamiya requesting permission to land," came a woman's voice over the radio as Seto entered the bridge followed by his little brother.

"Uh…negative SE-17! There's no room to land on Kaiba Corp. one!" went the stern reply of the pilot who now had his trigger happy boss breathing down his neck.

"What are you talking about? You've got a big ol' platform at the top!" she insisted as she laughed cheerfully. Seto moved forward and tapped the button on the mic…

"Didn't you hear what my pilot said! Back away NOW!" he yelled irritated at this mysterious woman's temerity to undermine his pilot's advice.

"Look, I just need to pick up someone and I'll be on my way," she continued unfazed by the anger and finality in Seto's tone.

"Then you will have to wait until we arrive at Kaiba Corp. Island," he growled back furiously. He was tired, he hadn't slept all night and he hadn't had his coffee. The last thing he needed was to deal with an obnoxious daredevil coming to ruin his ship and delay his tournament!

"That won't be for another four hours! I can't wait that long! She's gotta be on a plane with me bound for California in less then two!" she replied and Seto seethed at her audacity to sound annoyed! At HIM! How dare she?

"I repeat: BACK AWAY NOW!" he yelled at the end of his patience now. Mokuba fidgeted nervously behind Seto. His big brother was liable to do something very bad when he was in this kind of mood. He wished the pilot would just go away for her own sake.

"I'm coming in! Over and out!" she replied cheerfully and cut the connection. Seto was livid! His pilot frantically tried to slow the airship as much as he could to prevent a disaster! The death-wish pilot however was truly an awesome pilot though because she managed to land her little two-seater helicopter without as much as a bump! Seto stormed out of the bridge and got in to the elevator snarling all the awful things that he was going to say to this woman the instant he saw her!

Mokuba barely managed to jump in the elevator after him. Seto ignored his little brother's pleas all the while promising painful retribution. He knew that the SE in her call sign was the abbreviation for Shinomori Electronics so it was likely that she was a flunky sent out to pick up Mai. He ordered the captain to send someone down to the guest quarters to fetch Mai as the doors closed on the elevator.

"If she thinks that I will back down because of whom her employer is she is dead wrong!" Seto snarled angrily. Mokuba was sweating by now! He knew his brother would make good on his word. The elevator doors swished open with a soft hiss and Seto stalked angrily out with Mokuba close at his heel. He stood at the door of the elevator until the blades stopped spinning.

The pilot took her sweet time taking off her sunglasses and her headphones then gracefully leapt off the little helicopter. She stepped off the duel platform where she landed the helicopter. She gracefully walked over to the railing and casually leaned against it waiting for Seto. She smiled pleasantly at him as he stomped angrily towards her.

"Good Morning! My name's Shuura Kamiya!" she began cheerfully as he and Mokuba approached. Mokuba was about to reply but the thunderous look on his brother's face made him refrain.

"I don't care who the hell you are! Get this thing off my ship _NOW_!" he yelled at her pointing an accusing finger at her little aircraft. Shuura merely smiled back. Seto angrily pushed back strange thoughts that began to form in his head about how pretty this pilot was! And how nicely the pilot's uniform complimented her slender figure or the fact that she wore no makeup and her skin was so flawless. He blamed the out of character thoughts on his lack of caffeine and tried to ignore the way she licked her lips and applied a simple lip balm to them.

"Sure! As soon as Mai gets here!" she replied calmly snapping closed her little chap stick and putting it back in her pocket. The calmer Shuura was the more it enraged the tired and overworked Seto. He struggled to form coherent words but his rage blocked his speech. He took a step closer to the woman. Shuura frowned and extended her arm in front of her. Seto was less than an inch away from her finger tips. This woman was not at all like anyone he'd ever met! She was confident without being a ruthless hard-ass like Mai and she certainly was fearless without being forceful. In spite of himself he began to admire how she calmly stood her ground in the face of all his rage.

"I feel the need to warn you that coming within arms reach of me could be hazardous to your health!" she announced cheerfully "you would be invading my personal space!" she added with a smile.

_SNAP!_

The last of Seto's self-control disappeared and he took a huge step forward until he was within a half foot away from her face. She was at least three inches shorter than him. He growled in rage!

"_This is MY ship! I will step wherever the hell I want and YOU will get the hell off MY ship!_" he shouted. Mokuba fidgeted nervously and tried to make hand signals at the very beautiful girl who was about to die in a vain attempt to save her! She just rolled her eyes in mild annoyance and it further incensed Seto.

"You're lucky my boss told me to be nice to you!" she countered casually her hands still resting lightly on the railing at either side of her. She studied Seto calmly as he tried and failed to compose himself. He was everything she'd heard about him. He was short-tempered and psychotically over-zealous about the protection of his turf and definitely did _not_ take no for an answer. However he was more handsome than she had thought he'd be…

'Definitely not a Poindexter-type geek!' she thought with amusement 'He needs a hug though…or something more maybe…' she noticed something in his eyes that she had seen plenty of times in other men's eyes when they looked at her. His pupils were slightly dilated and her instincts told her the color in his cheeks wasn't just rage. Because of how young and very likely inexperienced he was she doubted that even Seto understood what he was feeling. She smiled as she hatched her little plan…

Seto opened his mouth to continue his tirade but when he stepped forward his foot encountered an obstacle he had not anticipated. He stumbled forward and Shuura threw her arms around his chest and caught him as he fell forward and she quickly strategically positioned herself so his open mouth landed on her mouth. Seto's eyes flew open in surprise but before he could react her tongue suddenly invaded his mouth and teenage hormones took over all responses from there!

'Correction: this boy needs a girlfriend!' Shuura thought in amusement as Seto went from wanting to kill her to willingly being her make-out buddy! His hands suddenly gripped her hips firmly and his body became more and more heated as he leaned eagerly into her surprise embrace. To her own surprise she found herself enjoying Seto's enthusiasm and raw talent…

Mokuba watched in complete astonished silence. His older brother was full on making out with the cute pilot he wanted to kill just a second ago. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. The image persisted and slowly a hopeful smile blossomed on his very young face.

'My big brother is human after all…' he thought happily. Seto finally snapped out of his hormonal episode and released Shuura taking several steps back. He had a wild and confused look in his eyes. Shuura merely smiled at him pleasantly and licked her lips.

'Jailbait! Jailbait! Jailbait! Jailbait!' her mind screamed holding back the impulse to pull him back towards her again and teach his eager yet inexperienced lips some of her favorite techniques! His intensity and strength surprised her! It wasn't something she thought she would encounter in someone so young!

The elevator hissed opened just then and he stomped away furiously without saying a word. After a stunned moment Mokuba quickly approached the girl smiled and shook her hand putting a business card with his private phone number on it in her hand. He had never given one out! Seto made them for him but Mokuba never used them. He was sure glad he had one today! He quickly introduced himself then quietly chased after his brother.

"It was very nice meeting you Mr. Kaiba!" Shuura called out. Seto ignored her as he stomped towards the elevator. Mai and the rest of the loser gang exited the elevator and their cheerful conversation came to a screeching halt as they came face to face with a livid Seto Kaiba.

"If you ever do something like this again I will see to it that you never duel again!" he growled angrily at Mai glaring fiercely at her. Mai blinked in surprise but Seto pushed past her and stormed into the elevator before any of them could react. Mokuba followed and as the elevator doors closed he noted that his big brother was licking his lips too.

"Seto…" he began tentatively worried about how this odd confrontation was going to affect his brother.

"Bubble gum…tasted like bubble gum…" he said suddenly. Mokuba looked at him very perplexed.

"Her chap stick…" he explained seriously. Mokuba smiled then opened his mouth to say something but Seto cut him off.

"Not a word Mokuba! Not a single word to anyone! Especially the twerps!" he growled. Mokuba mimicked a zipping, locking and throwing away the key sign but didn't stop smiling.

"I hate bubblegum!" Seto growled and stormed back onto the bridge. With considerable effort Mokuba affect his most serious look however inside his heart leapt!

'You may hate the Chap Stick but you sure liked her lips!' Mokuba thought cheerfully as his brother threatened everyone with termination if this incident ever got out…

* * *

Aoshi and Hiei stared at Seto dumbfounded. Seto did not look up from the Go board and Aoshi could see the color rising in his cheeks again.

"I don't understand what happened…I'm not clumsy…I don't…" Seto hesitated. "I don't kiss random people especially the ones that make me so angry!" he raged.

"That pirate! She tripped you…She planned it all!" Hiei managed astounded. Seto looked up confused. So Aoshi explained.

"Shuura's nature…She seems harmless as she approaches you until she waves her Jolly Roger and attacks!" he began "she'll be gone with her loot before you even get a chance to react!"

"Pirate!" Hiei repeated with a stern look on his face. It worried Seto a little. Again his mouth almost opened in her defense but he stopped when Aoshi chuckled.

"Shuura has terrorized every one of her friends for years! She will often sneak up on you and steal something then use it in a way that makes you not want it back!" Aoshi explained reciting an incident with Sano's uniform where Shuura had customized it and then worn it. Sano never wanted it back!

"But I think in this case she left more than as she took…" Aoshi concluded pensively. At Seto's confused look he explained:

"Shuura always brags about her trophies…However she didn't say a word about this incident to anyone…Not even Sensei!"

"We always tell Sensei everything… sometimes whether she wants to hear it or not!" Hiei added suddenly comprehending.

"The pirate Shuura will finally hang from the gallows!" Hiei declared sounding almost cheerful. For a moment Seto was able to glimpse the prankster that Aoshi once was in the maniacal glee of his reciprocal smile. However for some reason that he could not explain he could not bring himself to share in their joy and it frustrated him!

"See this is what frustrates me! I plotted for weeks how to get back at her! And here it is the perfect opportunity for me to retaliate and the first thing I did was defend her!" he growled angrily. Hiei and Aoshi's glee disappeared in the face of Seto's anger and confusion.

"Shuura is exciting and charming. She's also fearless and decisive. A woman very much in control of her destiny… She treated you in a way you hadn't been treated before…" Aoshi began seriously.

"She saw the man within you that wants recognition from people like her but she caught you by surprise…" Hiei added thoughtfully.

"You're like us in that you always want to be in control. Shuura took that control away from you and that's what makes you angry!" Aoshi continued gravely.

"On the other hand she acknowledged you as a man and as her equal. That was flattering and perhaps you feel some measure of gratitude towards her for the gesture…hence the confusion." Hiei concluded solemnly. Seto thought about it and found him self agreeing with them. He was grateful that they hadn't said something stupid like he was in love or something ridiculous like that! Their reasoning was sound and very logical. He liked logical!

Yes he liked to be in control of everything around him so it made him angry to lose that and yes it was flattering that this beautiful woman had not treated him in the condescending way most older women did and he was a little grateful for the "lesson"! He was glad that he decided to confide in these two men. They understood how his mind worked and they treated him like an equal. It was what he wanted more than anything: To be among the best…To be among the strongest!

"So then why are you two so happy? Why is the fact that she didn't say anything to Victoria so important?" Seto countered his embarrassment and confusion was gone now that he understood why he felt the way he did. Perhaps he even go so far as ripping the confidentiality agreements he'd forced on his crew and let Mokuba tell Mai what happened. Aoshi smirked slightly then.

"…Because you surprised her too!" Aoshi replied that slight maniacal glee back in his eyes. Hiei chuckled…

"See you must've been more than she expected!" Hiei surmised gleefully. Seto sat up surprised.

"Knowing Shuura she probably expected you to turn to mush and embarrass yourself by doing something stupid like ask her to marry you or something ridiculous like that! Something any ordinary teenager would do," Aoshi continued smirking at the horrified look on Seto's face.

"Oh I think not!" he declared seriously completely horrified at the thought of him making a fool of himself in such a way. That would never have happened in a million years! _He_ was no ordinary teenager!

"Precisely! You met her assault and held your ground!" Aoshi agreed.

"The Pirate was repelled! Most likely she's looking for a rematch! That's why she was goading you earlier," Hiei explained. Again Hiei surprised Seto. That the victory had been his was not something he expected to learn.

"We will have to tell Sensei…" Aoshi began uncertainly. Seto nodded.

"Yes but I want to be there…" Seto replied as he watched Aoshi place his next stone on the board. Hiei and Aoshi smirked and nodded.

"Oh yes…the pirate shall hang!" Hiei smirked both obviously relishing the thought of Shuura finally getting a little comeuppance!

* * *

Thanks for reading and reviewing! 


	12. So you want to be the strongest

**Disclaimer**I don't own Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu-Yu Hakusho, Hikaru no Go.

**To be the Strongest**

* * *

**Chapter 8: So you want to be the strongest?**

* * *

"Oh yes…the pirate shall hang!" Hiei smirked both obviously relishing the thought of Shuura finally getting a little comeuppance! 

"So while we think of a way to properly deal with the pirate let us continue…" Aoshi added after a brief pause…

* * *

Chizuru did indeed return by 3 in the morning just as Victoria was completing her third round on the kids. Dr. Gensai called from the emergency room around that time saying he had a boy in the emergency room that looked like one of the kids from the night of the kidnapping but the boy was alone and had no ID on him. Victoria left Chizuru, Hannya and Katsuta (Sano's father - who had returned from searching for Shuura) with the children and went to investigate.

She was horrified to find that the unconscious child on the emergency room bed was none other than Hiei. She took responsibility for the boy and paid his hospital bill then took him home as soon as the doctor released him in her care. Hannya tried to contact his parents once they arrived. Hiei's father answered loudly and rudely. He bluntly told Hannya that he had no sons and slammed the phone on his ear. It would take them sometime to find out what happened but in the end it was decided that Hiei would stay with Hannya and Aoshi. Victoria even got his parents to sign over custody of him to Hannya some time later.

When morning came Chizuru and Victoria prepared breakfast in silence. The phone rang and it was Misao wanting again to find out if she could talk to Aoshi. Aoshi refused and Hannya made up yet another excuse. The boys slowly made their way down from their rooms and quietly sat around the table. Kurama fussed around his brother endlessly but Kenshin accepted his brother's attention with equally endless patience. Yusuke and Kazuma showed up just in time for breakfast and things livened up a bit for the boys.

Shuura eventually came down to breakfast wearing Sano's school uniform. She declared in a loud imitation of her somewhat self-righteous sister that she refused to be "Just another brick in the wall!" and decided that she would wear a boy's uniform the rest of the school year. She explained that it was her way of "sticking it to the man" and it was simply horribly sexist and so not fair that boys got to wear comfortable clothes and girls were stuck wearing stupid skirts!

"In America kids get to wear whatever they want!" she declared defiantly stuffing a slice of her blueberry pancakes in her mouth. The boys laughed, high-fived her and cheered her on! Seeing the brief smile and hearing the soft chuckle from Aoshi meant so much at that moment to Hannya that if the girl had asked him for the moon he would've bent over backwards to get it for her!

Hannya picked up the phone to call the principal and have Hiei excused for the day and give the man a heads up on Shuura's plan. He knew the principal had a soft spot for the Kamiya sisters so Shuura wouldn't get into too much trouble. So once breakfast was done Victoria pulled Shuura back upstairs for a minute to talk to her.

"You see I told you! I knew you could help them!" Victoria crowed triumphantly. Shuura beamed with joy not caring if she got in trouble at school or not. Victoria reached into her closet for a different shirt. Sano's white shirt was too big for Shuura. So with a fitted white cotton blouse and a new bra with a bit of a lift the slight girlie-fication of a boy's school uniform was done! She fixed up Shuura's hair putting a couple of tiny cat's eye pins in it and added a pink choker. Shuura bounded happily down the stairs and Sano cringed when he saw her.

"Arrgh! What have you done to my uniform?!" he shrieked horrified. Shuura just rolled her eyes…

"I personalized it!" she declared as the other boys laughed.

"You pirate! I'll never be able to wear it again!" he grumbled shaking his head. His father laughed.

"Don't worry Sano. We'll get you a new one!" he chuckled. Hannya hugged Shuura as the ones who were going to school picked up their things. Hannya's driver had arrived early this morning with Shuura's books and school bag packed with her school uniform. Shuura had discarded her uniform and jammed her books into a new bag Victoria gave her: A big pink and red over the shoulder bag with the overlapping hearts logo of Victoria's Secret!

Chizuru had packed lunches for the boys and Shuura and passed them out as they finally left for school. They climbed onto Hannya's limo where the driver and two of Hannya's most trusted body guards accompanied them to school. Aoshi, Kenshin and Sano helped with the dishes in the kitchen. A small task Victoria assigned to them to keep their hands busy.

She sat them back at the kitchen table once she was done and handed out some schoolwork and some reading assignments. It was just more busy-work to keep their minds occupied and away from their issues. Tsune, Sano's mom showed up then after dropping Anzu off at school saying Kiki would pick her up when she picked up Yugi. She put a box full of donuts in the center of the table for the boys and joined the other adults in Victoria's office.

"We can't let them spend too much time in this state! We have to get their lives going again soon!" Victoria declared. Hannya sighed dejectedly.

"Aoshi's swim coach called me yesterday…he told me that there was going to be an Olympic recruiter at Aoshi's swim meet next week..." he paused with a grief stricken look on his face. Aoshi was captain of his school's swim team. He was a naturally gifted swimmer and won every meet easily despite the fact that he rarely attended practice because he disliked girls staring and giggling. It was annoyingly distracting so he practiced at home in his family's indoor swimming pool year round.

"Really! What did you tell him?" Victoria asked with a gleam in her eyes. The wheels started turning in her head as an idea came to her.

"I told him I didn't know whether Aoshi would be able to compete…I don't want lose hope but…" he paused once more and Chizuru reached out to put a comforting hand on Hannya's arm. Victoria whirled excitedly towards him!

"Call him back! Tell him Aoshi WILL be there!" she ordered excitedly. Hannya blinked a bit taken aback by Victoria's sudden enthusiasm but pulled out his phone and dialed Aoshi's school as Victoria turned her attention to Chizuru and Sano's parents.

"Chizuru, didn't you tell me Kenshin was in the track team?" she asked and Chizuru smiled sadly and nodded.

"He finally made Captain this year… He was supposed to compete in three weeks in the regionals but the concussion…"

"The concussion is mild! He'll be healed by then!" Victoria cut her off then turned to Katsuta and Tsune. Without being asked they explained their son's extracurricular activity. Sano was in the boxing club however his low grades didn't allow him the position of captain. He remained on the team however because he won every match.

"Low grades eh? Easily fixed…" Victoria mumbled to herself as she paced the office rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"He's in the district finals next month but with his grades they might not let him compete…" Katsuta began but was cut off by a wave of her hand.

"Details! Don't worry about that!" she dismissed her mounting excitement starting to rouse their curiosity.

"Well ladies and gentlemen I think I just figured out how we're going to get the kids back into their lives!" she declared jovially and explained her plan to the eager parents…

"Heads up boys!" she declared cheerfully as she returned to the kitchen. Aoshi looked up wondering why their new teacher looked so happy. In time he would come to learn that seeing that maniacally happy smile on her face was only going to mean trouble for them…

"So you want to be the strongest?" she began gleefully a wicked gleam in her eyes. Kenshin, Sano and Hiei just looked at each other dubious but Aoshi replied without hesitation.

"Yes!" he intoned seriously in a cold hard tone his friends would come to dislike.

"Very well then…let us begin!" she smiled rubbing her hands in anticipation. Only Aoshi didn't look worried and for a moment his eyes reflected her enthusiasm.

"Yes! Let us Sensei! I am ready!" he intoned a little more enthusiastically as he stood from the table. His companions banished their doubts deciding they would stand by their friend and agreed.

"WE are ready!" Sano corrected. She smiled again 'Excellent!' she thought and explained her plan…

* * *

"So that's how you ended up in the Olympics?" Seto asked recalling what he did know about Aoshi and his friends. 

"Yes while we recovered we helped Sano with his grades and I went to the swim meet…" Aoshi took it up again…

* * *

Aoshi watched from a dark hidden corner as the crowd gathered in the stands around the pool. There were rumors of Sano selling tickets to this public event and truth be told he didn't put it past Sano to exploit gullible people! He didn't care either way Sensei expected him to win and that's what he was going to do! A voice behind him suddenly jolted him out of his reverie. 

"Aoshi…hi I…" the soft sweet voice of his beloved Misao spoke hesitantly from behind him. He knew he couldn't prolong this he had to let go of her. He was no longer worthy and there was no use in her waiting around for him. He steeled his resolve for what needed to be done.

"Hello Misao. What are you doing here?" he asked in a cold detached tone.

"I came to watch you swim," she replied hesitantly. His cold tone giving her pause and making her uncertain…

"Since you are here…I have to apologize for the other night Misao it was wrong of me to mislead you," he began in a cold hard tone. Confusion and disappointment marred her pretty face but Aoshi resolutely held on to his decision.

"As you know I will be 18 soon…" he added letting the words hang for a moment as clever Misao assimilated his meaning. Disappointment and sadness flitted past her face but quickly she recovered and smiled.

"Right! That's right! I haven't even turned 15 yet! Well we were always better at being friends! Good Luck at your swim meet Lord Aoshi!" she replied cheerfully digging the dagger of grief and guilt deeper into Aoshi's heart as she turned and ran off waving cheerfully. He turned towards the pool where the announcer was calling for the competitors to go to their positions. The same cold voice from deep inside that floated up to save him at the warehouse surfaced once more:

_I never want to see your face in front of me again…_

"Yes…better this way…you will be safer this way…good bye my beloved Misao" he told himself as he took his position. The gun shot went off and Aoshi dove in to the water his arms and legs carving a straight path effortlessly through the pool. The tears that spilled freely from his eyes were washed away in the chlorine heavy liquid and with them the last of his innocent days…

* * *

Aoshi paused and Hiei explained that Aoshi won the meet effortlessly even creating a new record for the district. Kenshin won the regional competitions and Sensei had managed to place an Olympic recruiter at both his track meets and Sano's bouts securing places for both of them in Japan's Olympic team for the '96 Atlanta Games. 

"I had been reluctant about the Olympics at first…" Aoshi began nostalgically.

"But I insisted that if he wanted to be the strongest he had to pit himself against the best that the _world_ had to offer!" Victoria put in as she returned to the broody corner. Seto started slightly at the sound of her voice. She had not made a sound when she approached calmly and elegantly and it was disconcerting how she could so easily move completely undetected.

"The training Sensei put them through was brutal!" Hiei (who witnessed most of it) remarked a slight note of awe in his voice. Victoria smiled sadly at him but Aoshi spoke before she could reply.

"It was necessary Hiei! We were late additions to the teams and we had to catch up fast," Aoshi replied Victoria nodded her approval as she took a seat with them again.

"I gave Aoshi the hardest time of them all because I knew his teammates would believe he got a spot on the team because of his father's money," Victoria explained with a note of resentment that Aoshi's training had to ensure that he could blow any rival out of the water under any condition and without room for doubt.

"I remember I strapped on my legs and arms these weights and went in the water fully clothed. I had to beat my best times with them but the pool soon was not enough of a challenge," Aoshi reminisced with a smile on his face.

"Nice to see you smile about it now! I do recall much grumbling and stomping around when I woke you up for practice!" Victoria teased. Aoshi chuckled and nodded.

"Yes well I _still_ do not have found memories of swimming at 5am with your little row boat tied around my chest that's for sure!" Aoshi replied but he chuckled just the same. At the shocked look on Seto's face he explained that when the pool training had become too little a challenge Sensei had moved things to the ocean.

"I had to swim 3 miles out into the ocean fully clothed with weights on my arms and legs and Sano in the rowboat out to a very small buoy," he explained a bit nostalgically that Sano's training had been an emphasis on balance and power control. He had to go through a series of punches while balancing on the tip of the moving boat. Which as time went on began moving faster and faster!

"Meanwhile Kenshin had to beat his best times on the sand wearing weights on his legs," Aoshi added as he put down his next stone on the board.

"Wow…" Seto replied softly.

"We were working out every day at almost all hours," Aoshi continued as he explained that since the school year was over by the time they made the team they dedicated every hour to training. In the mornings they did various strength training in the afternoons he would end up back in the water working solely on form. He couldn't just be fast and strong certain techniques he'd gotten away with using until then were forbidden in Olympic swimming so he had train them out of his routines.

"We finally got a break a few days before we flew out with our teams to Atlanta," Aoshi continued. Victoria laughed as she too recalled what the boys had told her of the day they shipped off.

"The hardest part as I was told was getting Sano on the plane! He was afraid of them," Victoria explained amused. Aoshi as he recalled that day…

* * *

"NO WAY! There is just no way that a rust bucket like that one can stay up in the air all the way to California!" Sano protested rather loudly. "I am NOT getting on it!" he concluded adamantly. Aoshi sighed in frustration he couldn't leave Sano behind but he had to get on the plane. Explaining the finer points of aerodynamics had not done him any good either. He wished Sensei had been there but she had to return to America the day before to deal with the affairs of her company. She'd already been gone too long… 

"Then how do you propose we get to Atlanta," Aoshi asked making an effort to be calm. He looked around to see if Sano's parents were still in sight but they were already gone on their way to the private runaway where one of the Shinomori Electronics private jets would take all of their families to Atlanta.

"We can take a boat!" Sano proposed stubbornly. Kenshin and Aoshi rolled their eyes then suddenly an idea struck him.

"Very well Sano one of my father's ships can accommodate us and we should reach Atlanta in time for you to make it to your bouts," Aoshi replied calmly. Sano's eyes lit up.

"Really?" Sano said hopeful he hadn't really believed that his friends would go for it.

"Yes we can definitely do that if Aoshi says so…but we will be disqualified. Aoshi and I will not arrive in time for our competitions. Sensei will be most disappointed in us," Kenshin added despondently catching on to Aoshi's plan. Sano looked crushed he grumbled and mumbled angrily to himself then picked up his bag.

"Fine! I'll get on the damn thing! But I'm telling you it's gonna plunge into the ocean like a rock!" Sano grumbled angrily and he stomped towards the boarding ramp in front of Kenshin and Aoshi. Aoshi breathed a small sigh of relief. As he got on the plane however his heart began thundering wildly with an unfamiliar excitement. As he stowed his duffel bag and Kenshin's (Kenshin couldn't reach!) in the overhead compartment he struggled to control this mounting excitement.

'What is this? I have never been nervous about airplanes so where is this coming from?' he asked himself as he took his aisle seat. He buckled his seat belt and closed his eyes in an attempt to clear his mind and analyze where this feeling was coming from. Sensei had told him that one of the most important steps to achieving greater power was to achieve mastery of your self both physically as well as mentally. As he sat there he could hear his other teammates were whispering to each other speculations on how much money his father might have paid to get him on the team.

A small momentary smirk appeared on Aoshi's lips when he understood at that moment what the feeling was about. It had nothing to do with being on the airplane. His father had several and he'd traveled the world in them since he was very small. It had to do with the fact that this was the first time that Aoshi had actually earned something on his _own_. His envious teammates' comments meant nothing because soon enough they would eat their words!

Thankfully Sano spent most of the trip asleep. No surprise really since he had been so nervous about the flight that he hadn't slept a wink in two days! He and Kenshin read books but occasionally Kenshin would ask him questions about America. Aoshi had been to California more than once with his uncles when he was little. They had taken him to Disneyland several times. His father took him to New York once too with his uncles to see the Statue of Liberty. It was the only time he remembered seeing his father smile.

"We should go to Disneyland! I've always wanted to go there too!" Kenshin suggested cheerfully interrupting his thoughts.

"I'll take you if you and Sano win," Aoshi countered slyly. Kenshin just smiled and nodded agreeing to the terms of the bet. Kenshin eventually did put his own book down and closed his eyes to take a nap asking Aoshi to wake him when they were above LA. He didn't want to miss seeing it from the sky. Aoshi was left alone with his thoughts again. He drifted back to that vacation in New York.

'He hasn't smiled since she died,' he realized. Any pictures of his father with his mother had always showed him laughing or smiling happily. Any pictures taken after she died had no smiles in them. His quest for strength would be one that would consume his life and he knew that his father would walk with him most of the way but eventually Aoshi would have to venture out on his own. He knew his father would be all alone then.

'I wonder if there is someone out there who can make him smile…I should ask Sensei perhaps she will know what to do,' he thought as he too drifted off into a short nap…

* * *

They all paused for a moment to laugh. Seto laughed hardest of all hardly able to believe that the big tough Sano Sagara had a fear of flying. 

"Sano has since gotten over that especially since he has to fly often from California to visit his family!" Victoria assured him.

"…and speaking of families I have some pictures here that I know you want to see Aoshi!" Victoria announced cheerfully pulling a small white envelope out of her purse and handing it to Aoshi.

"I asked Yusuke to pull them out of my car when he went for my CDs," Victoria explained in a soft motherly tone. Seto watched carefully as a small wistful smile appeared on Aoshi's lips as he took out the pictures and scanned them. To Seto's surprise he passed one of the photos onto him. Curious Seto took the picture and as he opened his mouth Aoshi guessed what Seto was going to ask.

"That man in the picture is Hajime the little one is his new son Soji and the toddler is his first born Ricky," Aoshi explained.

"He's the one you told me about before right? Your dad's girlfriend's son?" he asked wanting to make sure he had his facts right. Aoshi nodded and explained that they had been there in California for New Year's Eve. The child was born in L.A. just after the holidays and he had been able to stay long enough to meet the new little one but had to leave soon afterward because of Misao's schedule.

"Correct but if Aoshi and his uncles had their way Emi would be his stepmother by now but my buddy Emi can be rather stubborn!" Victoria added and again her eyes twinkled with mischief and an air of victory.

"Sensei…what are you up to?" Aoshi asked cast a suspicious look her way. She merely smiled.

"You know life has a funny way of doing what I want it to do," she replied cryptically smiling mischievously. Aoshi frowned he knew his teacher better than most and knew from that grin on her face that she was up to some _**major**_ scheming. He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off.

"Pass him the other pictures and tell him about what happened when you got to LA!" she commanded and Aoshi knew from experience that it was best not to question Sensei. She always did what was best for them all…

* * *

He woke as the captain announced that they were over LA and would be landing in just about 20min. Kenshin made a little room for Aoshi and Sano to look out his window. Sano totally freaked out about how high they were and Aoshi switched seats with him to quiet him down. He rolled his eyes as Sano pulled up his knees to his chin and screwed his eyes tightly shut mumbling something about ghosts. 

The airplane finally landed and slowly they all began to file out. As they exited the boarding ramp a woman holding a banner could be seen in the distance. She was standing next to an old man in a white shirt and dark blue pants holding a sign up for the Japanese team. He dismissed the man completely once he had a good look of the woman!

She was a tall lithe woman wearing a pair of white denim Capri-style pants, high heeled sandals on perfectly pedicured feet and a pink polo shirt with the logo of Victoria's Secret on her name tag. Her long rich brown hair held away from her beautiful face with a simple pink head band. When she spoke she did so in the most perfect Japanese he'd ever heard!

"Welcome to America! My name is Tokio…" she began and bowed formally. She explained she would be their guide while they were in California. Victoria's Secret was sponsoring teams that were arriving into the US with brief stays to get a feel for the country they were visiting. Many of the models were volunteering their time to become tour guides for the teams. Tokio was chosen by Victoria herself to guide the Japanese team since she spoke the language well.

"Whoa! Sensei didn't tell us anything about her!" Sano pointed out excited. His issues with the plane ride forgotten in the presence of a pretty girl. Kenshin laughed glad that his friend was back to his usual self. Aoshi shook his head but was glad none the less that Sano wasn't giving them any more problems. They followed her out as she explained that a bus was ready to take them to their first stop: the hotel.

They piled onto the bus and Sano was ecstatic that they got to sit up front close to their tour guide. Tokio explained that they would be taken to the Regency suites hotel in Long Beach so they could get some rest. The one of the hotel's conference rooms would be where they would gather for dinner and Victoria Stillwater would come to greet them formally. A big cheer rose in the ranks of the team as they heard that last part.

Aoshi wasn't too interested in that! They'd had plenty of time with Sensei the past few weeks. However he became unusually interested in the woman guiding them. She looked to be at least in her early twenties and she looked and acted every bit what you would expect from a beautiful model working for such a high quality company as Victoria's Secret. She took a seat at the driver's right and turned on the microphone.

She talked about LA giving a brief history of the city as well as some of its statistics. She answered questions about various highlights of the city as well as her boss Victoria Stillwater. She gave them a few pointers on the highlights of the city of Long Beach and what attractions would be near enough for them to reach from their hotel.

Aoshi watched her with growing curiosity. Though she gave no outward appearance of it she seemed to radiate a power of some sort. Different from that of Sensei's but very strong. She was not the princess she appeared to be on the outside but he wasn't sure why he was so certain of this. As he concentrated trying to figure out what it was he suddenly had an image in his mind of her in an operating room covered in the gear of a surgeon. The image was very clear and with it came the absolute certainty of what she was doing.

"You're a doctor!" he blurted out before he could stop himself astonished by how certain he was of this or how he knew that she was a very good doctor with aspirations of becoming a celebrated neuro-surgeon. Tokio stopped mid-sentence caught by surprise by Aoshi's insight.

"Wow! How did you know that?" Tokio asked truly surprised by his insight. Aoshi blinked in confusion he had no idea how he was going to explain that he'd either read her mind or saw the future!

"Maybe Sensei mentioned it!" Kenshin supplied coming to his rescue. Aoshi nodded and played along.

"Yes maybe…" Aoshi added hoping this would suffice.

"Who's Sensei?" she asked. Sano cheerfully piped up and explained that Sensei was what they called Victoria Stillwater. Kenshin further added that she often did business calls from anywhere that she might be and they often overheard much of it.

"So you might've caught my name in one of those calls you overheard?" she asked slightly amused "Small world isn't it?" she laughed and Aoshi held back a sigh of relief glad that she had bought that little fib. However the release of the knowledge that they were close to someone as big as Victoria Stillwater and the attention they were getting from their cute guide didn't win them any points with their team…

* * *

Seto had paused in his perusal of the pictures Aoshi had handed him as this new information caught him by surprise. 

"That was the first time I did that…to just know something important about someone you don't know was a unique skill my mother had and apparently I inherited from her," Aoshi explained.

"Came in handy when campaigning against Kanryuu…" Hiei commented solemnly.

"Sometimes…I can't always do it…It seems to work best with people of strong willpower," Aoshi explained. This caught Seto's interest!

"Could you do it with me?" Seto asked intrigued his teenage curiosity getting the better of him. Aoshi smirked.

"I did! Years ago when we met I got an image in my mind of you older as you are now sitting at Gozaburo's desk," he began explaining he'd gotten a sense then that he would be different from Gozaburo which had in turn stayed his hand on any direct attacks against Kaiba corp. back then so as to give Seto a chance to rise to power. Takeda was his first objective anyway.

"I concentrated on Takeda because I wasn't sure whether the difference would be good or bad. If you had followed in Gozaburo's footsteps I would've shown you no mercy for your age," Aoshi declared solemnly. Seto smirked.

"Good to know! So what held you back afterwards? The underground was rife with rumors that _I_ had killed Gozaburo," Seto pointed out unperturbed as he placed his next stone on the board. Victoria suspected he was a little flattered by Aoshi's comment. Broodies are a weird bunch!

"We knew you didn't kill him," Aoshi replied with certainty.

"Roland told me! We met at his brother's wedding," Victoria answered easily. Victoria then explained at the surprised look on his face that his loyal head of security Roland was the brother of an old friend of hers. Roland's brother Joe had recently married Clarisse Renaldi who until recently had been the Queen of Genovia until her granddaughter assumed the throne less than a year ago.

"That's right! Roland took some personal time last year before battle city to travel to Genovia… I remember know…" Seto input thoughtfully.

"I simply asked him when I met him," Victoria reiterated calmly.

"I asked an old college classmate…after his wife died we had lost contact," Aoshi began.

"Please don't tell me you went to school with Maximillian Pegasus," Seto grumbled annoyed knowing instinctively that Pegasus was the only other person who knew what happened to Gozaburo and was old enough to have been married. Victoria sighed sadly and shook her head.

"That boy lost his mind I swear," she said shaking her head in disapproval.

"He was a different person when I met him but I went to his island because of some rumors in the underground that he was somehow responsible for putting Mr. Motou in the hospital and kidnapping your brother," Aoshi began a bit sadly.

"Max and Cecilia were good friends of mine and I couldn't believe that an honorable man as he had been could resort to such despicable actions but I learned of what happened at the tournament and his reasons for dealing with Kaiba Corp.'s big 5 from his own mouth," Aoshi explained and there seemed to be a slight amount of pity in his voice.

"Losing yourself to your demon is a hard thing to live with…Max has a long way to go still before he comes to terms with what he did…" Victoria lectured solemnly. Aoshi nodded in agreement.

"Lucky for me I had you to stop me Sensei…" he added gravely. Seto stared at the board his own mind going back to the Death-T incident and how he'd shamelessly tried to have Yugi and all of his friends killed. Even Mokuba nearly died in that nightmare and the guilt still weighed heavily on him.

"You had good friends to stop you Aoshi I merely provided the means through which their hearts could reach you," Victoria countered.

"Now how about we switch subjects here for a moment…Misao was just talking about the famous or should I say infamous Valentine's Day Prank Aoshi and the subject of what happened on the blimp seemed to surface," Victoria began casually Seto flinched slightly and she could see the smallest blush rising in his cheeks.

"She seemed a little too happy with the fact that you didn't tell anyone what happened," she added watching him with suspicion. He sighed heavily he had already told Aoshi he would tell Sensei what happened so he went ahead and repeated his tale of the pirate boarding his blimp.

"Seto I do believe Aoshi and Hiei are right! You _definitely_ are a lot like them! Now if you'll excuse me I have a pirate to put on trial and a proper noose to prepare!" she exclaimed excited and rushed away towards where the rest of the partygoers were gathered listening to Misao's tale…

* * *

"Should we worry?" Seto asked at the worried look on Aoshi's face. Aoshi shook his head uncertain. He exchanged a quick glance with Hiei who wordlessly got up and followed their teacher. 

"I'm not sure she sometimes has odd ways of teaching…" Aoshi replied uncertain. Seto wanted to press the issue but really he wanted to get back to Aoshi's main story. He was tiring of the sidebars. Seto Kaiba wasn't exactly known for his patience!

"Ok so going back to my previous question…" Seto began.

"Well mainly the direction you took your company in…" Aoshi answered explaining that the fact that Seto sold the weapons manufacture contracts to other companies and demolished the weapons factories on Kaiba Corp. Island was enough to reassure Aoshi that Seto would not be like Gozaburo.

"Although you had me worried a little with the Death-T incident…a lot of my men were there at the arena under Sensei's orders by the way and they were a hairsbreadth away from intervening," Aoshi added in a casual off-handed manner. Seto flinched of course he should've figured Aoshi had been watching that closely given his relationship with the cheerleader's family.

"We were about to intervene when Anzu was kidnapped during battle city too but Sensei insisted on seeing what you would do and held us back," he continued explaining that all family members of Oniwaban employees are carefully guarded. Anzu's predicament had been immediately known because her celphone transmitted a distress signal to headquarters when it was destroyed by her kidnappers.

"The phones stop sending their locator beacon when broken and that sends an alert to our system…" Aoshi continued. Seto caught on right away.

"I see! Once the cheerleader's phone stopped transmitting you knew something was wrong!" Seto finished for him. Aoshi nodded.

"With most of our families we don't send a rescue team out until we've confirmed that there's a problem. Most of the time its just that the phone suffered some sort of minor mishap like falling into the gutter while you're walking, etc but with Anzu because of what happened at the Death-T we didn't take any chances. Hiei and Yusuke were sent out immediately to find her," he clarified calmly.

"I assume you might've tapped into my communications network hoping to find her right?" Seto guessed. Aoshi simply nodded.

"We did and as luck would have it you did know where she was so we followed you to the docks," Aoshi concluded.

"She saved Mokuba I wasn't going to let them hurt her," Seto assured him solemnly.

"Yes, I believe that's what Sensei saw…that you have a strong sense of duty like us and like us you would repay a favor no matter what the cost," Aoshi replied calmly studying the board. Seto smirked and continued looking at the pictures glad that once again he was in the category that he so desperately wanted to be.

"Who are they?" Seto asked one picture had two women on it a beautiful young one and a nice looking older one. Aoshi smiled and leaned forward to point them out.

"The older one is Emi or wolf-momma as we like to call her and the other is Tokio Nii-sama's – I mean Hajime's wife!" Aoshi declared sounding almost cheerful to Seto's utter shock.

"Tokio…is she the same Tokio you talked about just now?" Seto inquired still a bit surprised by Aoshi's sudden cheer.

"Yes…She's in the US air force now doing some top level research into the use of nano-technology to treat cancer in the brain," Aoshi added proudly. Seto was impressed. You had to be a real brain for that kind of research!

"She was orphaned when she was 12 and had to live with some abusive relatives until she won a scholarship and left for college when she was 15. She'd just become a doctor by the time I met her. She was 21," Aoshi continued sounding quite proud of his friend.

"Wow…that's impressive," Seto admitted "Aoshi you know some very interesting people…"

"You didn't think the world had only people like the kind Gozaburo hired did you?" Aoshi asked him though his tone suggested he had gained as much insight into Seto's world as Seto learned about Aoshi's.

"No only one half of the world…idiot teenagers comprised the other half!" he joked lightly earning a chuckle from his new friend.

'Yes…he's finally coming around. Sensei was right as usual…' Aoshi thought with a touch of wonder. Excitement began to build within him. Sensei had told him on New Year's Eve that by the end of this year all the things she wanted for them would finally be achieved. She wanted him and all her students to be happy and fulfilled in their lives. She wanted Hannya to let go of the past and make a new future with Emi. All of his friends were well on their way towards that first goal the only ones left were him and his father.

He continued with his story telling him about their two day stay in LA and being isolated from the rest of the team. He did not care then and certainly didn't care now. He had shoved back into their mouths in a most humiliating way all of their disdain. As he did he thought about Sensei's recent actions. How she'd been keeping an eye on Seto and Yugi and their constant tug of war for months. She seemed like she was preparing the school for the next batch of students.

'Yes it's time for the next class to step up!' he thought at the same time realizing that what he desired most was close to his grasp. How to reach it would be the real question…

'But no doubt Sensei already has a plan well on its way to hatching!' he thought excitedly as once again he took them back into the past to the day they arrived in Atlanta and their new guide was just as pleasing to eyes as Tokio but not as interesting.

* * *

Onward we go! I am sorry this is taking so long! I didn't mean for it to take so long but I wasn't counting on the black hole that calls itself Final Fantasy 12! It really sucked what little spare time I had away from me (sigh) I became a willing slave to Basch's angsty charm! I think I still am… 

Then of course there was Celebration 4 and really those storm troopers and Boba Fetts and Darth Vaders running around the LA convention center drove me to distraction!

(sigh)

In short a thousand apologies! I thank you for reading and reviewing and I will make an effort to produce more quickly the new episodes!

Thank you!


	13. Let the games begin!

**Disclaimer**I don't own Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu-Yu Hakusho, Hikaru no Go.

* * *

**To be the Strongest**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Let the games begin!**

* * *

Aoshi took them back into the past to the day they arrived in Atlanta and their new guide was just as pleasing to the eyes as Tokio but not as interesting…

* * *

Slowly they filed out of the bus that had conducted them from the airport to the Olympic villa where the Japanese team was staying in Atlanta for the games.

"Your rooms have already been assigned to you so as you enter an assistant will provide you with the keys and you should already have the two names of your assigned room partners!" Sayaka – their Victoria's Secret guide in Atlanta – cheerfully explained as she led them to the building.

To their dismay all three boys had been assigned separate rooms. It made sense to Aoshi after all it would be better to remain close to people with the same schedules as you. Aoshi was joined by two other swimmers, Kenshin went with a couple of track & field athletes and Sano was further down the hall with a couple of judo athletes.

The next morning they went to their drug screenings first then headed out to the track after breakfast. Kenshin would be the first of the three to compete and a few preliminary races were scheduled before the opening ceremony that night. Kenshin won easily enough and the easy victories provided some support from their team. Kenshin would race in the 400m relay, the 800m and the 1500m races.

Aoshi went to his preliminaries later that afternoon and won easily as well. He was a bit shocked to find himself almost a complete pool length ahead of the rest of the swimmers he was competing against when he finished the race. So Aoshi was set by the swim team's coach to compete in the 1500m freestyle; the 100m and 200m butterfly which was Aoshi's strongest style and the 400m individual medley. Sano's schedule had been moved around a little and his first preliminary bout was two days from then in the welterweight category.

They all dressed up later that evening for the opening ceremonies and off they all went to the stadium. They watched on a TV in the locker rooms as the torch was brought in. An American runner was bringing it in to the stadium carrying it high up in the air. He had a very proud demeanor and didn't seem to sag in the least despite having run at least 3 miles already with it. The camera did a close up of him and showed his name on the screen:

_Lt Hajime S. Davila of the US Marine Corp – gold medal winner of the 10k in Barcelona 1992._

"The "S" stands for Saito!" Kenshin remarked cheerfully "I'm running against him in the 1600m relay! He's the American team's anchor!" unable to contain his excitement as he chattered happily about the man's record. Aoshi watched the man on the screen. He looked like a worthy opponent for Kenshin and Aoshi hoped he would find a similar opponent for himself here…

* * *

Kenshin returned snickering all the while saying Shuura was being bombarded with questions about her failed attempt to loot the Kaiba corp. prince's ship. He said he just had to rush over and ask if it was all true. Very solemnly Seto assured him the story was true. Sano arrived right behind Kenshin and put Seto in a playful headlock ruffling his hair viciously and laughing all the while then released him. Yusuke pounded him on the back affectionately. Everyone loves seeing the pirate a hairsbreadth away from the gallows!

"You lucky little bugger! You know you're only the second person to be able to repel the pirate right? Though I like you better than the other one!" Sano announced cheerfully laughing loudly.

"Technically Sano Saito-san _defeated_ the pirate while Seto-kun only repelled her! At least that's what Sensei seems to think," Kenshin corrected cheerfully. Sano growled angrily at him as the sat with Aoshi and Seto.

"Don't you start singing that damn wolf's praises too or I'll kick your butt Kenshin!" Sano growled. Aoshi chuckled for a moment.

"Sano I'm sorry to inform you but I just arrived at the section of my story where I tell Seto about the Olympics," Aoshi announced and Seto was surprised to hear the slight note of mischief in Aoshi's voice. Sano gave Aoshi a withering look then shook his head and threw his hands up in the air. Yusuke plopped himself down on a chair looking equally despondent.

"Ugh! I guess we'll have to suffer the wolf one way or another!" Yusuke sighed in annoyance. Aoshi smirked knowing Sano and Yusuke didn't really have a big issue with his Nii-sama it was mostly for show. For that matter Hajime didn't really disliked them either he just loved rattling their chains and riling them up!

"Did you tell him about Tokio-dono?" Kenshin asked a little more seriously.

"A little…I haven't gotten past the opening ceremonies yet," he explained "which reminds me…" he picked up the white envelope with the pictures he and Seto had just been looking at. Yusuke and Sano huddled around Kenshin and they all smiled as they looked at the pictures.

"Well you gotta hand it to the old wolf…he makes a good dad…" Yusuke pointed out softly as he took the picture with Hajime and his two sons in his arms. He smiled wistfully.

"You just complimented him…" Seto remarked surprised. Yusuke smiled.

"Look it's not that we hate the wolf…he just likes to push our buttons and make us mad! But we think he's alright…" he admitted. Sano leaned forward then.

"When he's not being an ass that is! But don't tell him we said that! We will deny with much vigor!" Sano immediately put in to enthusiastic agreement from Yusuke.

"And then we'll kick your ass kid! Nothing is worse then having to deal with the wolf when he's right! _**Nothing!**_" Yusuke added gravely. Seto frowned but agreed. If he was brutally honest with himself he would admit he felt the same way about Jou. He didn't hate the guy he actually that he was ok after all anyone who can make Mokuba smile and laugh was a good person in his book but it was just too much fun pushing his buttons. He wondered if this "Wolf" felt the same way about them.

"Well since I have to suffer the wolf one way or the other… I'll go show these to the others!" Yusuke volunteered cheerfully and took the rest of the pictures. Seto stared at the board but was thinking of Aoshi's big brother. He was fast becoming interested in learning more about "The Wolf". He sounded like a very interesting guy! So he urged Aoshi to continue with his story which Kenshin took up since he was the first of his friends to compete for medals.

* * *

The runners were warming up on the track. Kenshin looked up at the stands and could instantly pick out his friends. Sano was jumping up and down and Aoshi was standing so still that he stood out like a sore thumb among all the cheerful waving sports fans. His first race would be the 100m dash then the coach after seeing Kenshin's impressive times decided he should run in both the 400m relay (4x100m) and the 1600m (4x400m) relays as the anchor. After his stretching exercises he removed his sweat pants and jacket then moved over to the track and his coach pinned his number securely to his back.

He took a deep breath trying to calm his nerves. His sensei he knew was in a special sponsor's box high up in the stadium along with other American sponsors. None of them had been able to see her since they arrived. According to Aoshi's dad she had already been catching some flak from the American press for sponsoring foreign athletes. He and his friends weren't the only non-Americans that she apparently favored.

She sponsored a lot of African and Middle East athletes and it caused quite a stir. Human Rights activists and peace advocates of all kinds rallied in support of her equalitarian views other more militant and/or conservative groups accused her of being a traitor. She had also been known to have befriended Russian dancers and athletes today as well as back in the cold war days. It was all par for the course as far as Victoria was concerned and it never stopped her from trying to encourage and protect those she deemed worthy regardless of where they came from.

'Sensei doesn't care where you're from as long you're a good person,' Kenshin thought sagely as he moved to his spot in the starting line. Feeling fully confident of his ability to win he banished all thoughts and concentrated on the race. He took his starting position and when the shot went off so did Kenshin! Speeding like a bullet down the track he blasted through both Olympic and World records with ease. As he crossed the tape he slowed and looked up to his friends. Sano was waving a Japanese flag and jumping like crazy. Aoshi was very still with the exception of the clapping he was doing. Kenshin smiled and waved back.

Not long afterwards the relay races were set up and Kenshin got to meet some of his competition. The Americans were very friendly and highly interested in him due to his impressive run earlier. All except for Lt. Davila! He didn't seem to like Kenshin at all! He sat apart from the rest of the competitors doing his own stretching glaring at Kenshin with a deep suspicion that made Kenshin a little nervous. He smiled and waved at him once and Saito-san – which is what in his head he'd decided to call him – just rolled his eyes and looked away.

"You know he's one of Victoria Stillwater's favorites," a fellow track competitor from the American team said to Kenshin in a conspiratorial whisper. Sensei had told him that he would encounter a powerful opponent in Saito-san during the Olympic Games! He just couldn't wait to run against him!

"That's very exciting! I can't wait!" Kenshin exclaimed unable to contain his sheer joy. They were given the signal for the start of the race and all the runners took their places for the first race. Again despite dominance from the American team in the first three stages of the 400m relay when it came Kenshin's turn he blasted the Japanese team from fourth place to an impressive and undisputable victory. The crowd was going wild! It didn't seem to matter where Kenshin was from he was a sports hero today and a credit to the human race!

Kenshin beamed up at the crowd and his face suddenly appeared on the monitors above the crowds. The words: "Fastest man on Earth" flashed under his face. He smiled bashfully and waved up at the crowd…

* * *

Victoria returned as Kenshin was talking about his first races. She settled in to listen commenting on how mad Hajime had been when the first relay team lost.

"His mother was sitting with me and she just shook her head and laughed. She knows how much Hajime hates to lose!" Victoria laughed then encouraged Kenshin to continue though her own mind went back to those events as related to her by Hajime's mother a few days later.

* * *

Hajime growled angrily as he watched Himura blast away his teammates in the 400m relay. He hated losing and he hated watching his teammates lose just as much!

'Punk needs to be taken down!' he raged promising to beat the little bugger when his turn came around. He couldn't understand though why he disliked the kid so much after all they'd never met before. He clapped vigorously as his teammate dominated in the 200m and 400m races but was not completely satisfied with their victory because Himura had not participated in those races. The referee called for the runners to take their places after that.

'This time you're going down!' he growled to himself taking his place on the track as the anchor for his team. To prove that fate was a mischievous and cruel little creature he ended up standing right next to Himura. The boy smiled cheerfully at him.

"Good Luck Saito-san!" he cheerfully said to him. Hajime glared at him wondering why the boy was calling him by his middle name. He dismissed it as unimportant.

"Luck is for amateurs," he growled back and turned his head to watch for the shot. The teams started off and Hajime ground his teeth angrily as his team dropped to second right off the bat. They recovered towards the middle and pushed to first. Even worst was that the Japanese team seemed to have stepped up their game and were maintaining a solid third place.

'I have to really push it,' he grumbled to himself as he took the baton and shot off like a rocket trying to open their very narrow lead. Himura however caught up to him in mere seconds and passed him without effort it seemed. The little red-headed brat even turned to smile at him as he passed by! Pissed off, Hajime pushed beyond his limits but despite his heroic effort only managed a very close second place. His teammates celebrated their silver medal but Hajime was seething!

'Second is just the first loser!' he wanted to shout at them but there was no point to it they would not understand. He paced the track angrily. His mother came down to the track to say hi but infuriatingly enough she brought Victoria along with her.

She was gloating! Of course he should've known the little red-headed punk was one of the kids Victoria favored. She had warned him not to get too cocky because excessive cocky-ness sometimes led to a crushing defeat. Hajime should've learned by now that contradicting her always ended with him eating his words. He said nothing this time.

'I'm gonna beat this little…' he cursed angrily to himself as he returned to the track after a short break. He was set to race only in the 5000m and 10000m but subbed in the 800m for an injured teammate and again felt like the Coyote chasing after the damn Roadrunner but left to choke in the Roadrunner's dust! Of course that's what it felt like to Hajime but really Kenshin's victory had been very narrow and Kenshin was very satisfied with his wins against Hajime since he considered them hard fought.

"Damn it!" he cursed softly as he walked away. Taking a break and stretching out tired muscles he watched Kenshin race once more in the 1500m almost right away. He frowned as he watched Kenshin once more beat all the other racers but this time his victory seemed much more difficult.

'That coach is killing his goose of the golden eggs,' Hajime thought concerned. Kenshin seemed to have reached his limit. The hurdle racers were up and Hajime watched concerned as Kenshin was made to run in one of those two races. He struggled but managed to maintain his first place and win. Victoria had come down from her box and had a screaming match with the coach and she left obviously still rather upset.

'For his sake that coach had better not gone against her…' Hajime thought with a trace of sympathy. Hajime was up for his 5000m race but he was worried about his competition. As they stretched he walked over to the boy and pulled him aside.

"Have you trained for endurance runs or are you strictly a sprinter?" he asked gruffly. The boy's smile was strained. He was tired.

"No I'm a sprinter but the coach thinks I can win," Kenshin replied sounding rather doubtful and nervous. Hajime frowned now that he stopped to really look at the boy he had scars on his face and the back of his head that looked no more than a month old. He didn't feel quite so angry with the kid anymore.

"Listen to me quickly then. This race is about endurance don't spend all your energy at once…" Hajime began explaining the fundamentals of endurance running. Other runners gathered around them apparently also worried that Kenshin had no experience with this type of racing and they could all see Kenshin was being pushed beyond what was safe for him. An Ethiopian runner advised him that if he felt like he couldn't keep a position to not be afraid to fall back a little and allow his body to recover some energy.

"Since you're a sprinter you can make up for it at the end save your strength for then," Hajime advised solemnly. The boy looked up at Hajime awe and gratitude shining in his face.

"Saito-san…thank you! I thought you didn't like me though," Kenshin said softly staring up Hajime in a bewildered and awe-struck way. Hajime rolled his eyes and shook his head as if annoyed but he was finding it difficult to stay angry with the kid.

"Just be careful! If you want to come back in 4 years you'd better make sure you don't blow your knee out or break an ankle!" Hajime responded sternly.

"Yes! I will find my comfortable pace and conserve my energy!" Kenshin replied eagerly smiling up at the men around him in gratitude for their assistance. Everyone gathered around Kenshin and patted his back encouraging him to do his best but not to get hurt.

"Mind your footing and by the way you should double check your shoes! The smallest discomfort or the tiniest detail left unchecked could become a major disadvantage in a long race!" Hajime further advised. Kenshin nodded vigorously and sat right where he was standing to follow Hajime's instructions. Hajime smirked amused by Kenshin's childlike eagerness as he bent down.

"You'll be alright kid," he said softly patting him on the shoulder and walked away. He smiled just a little as the boy called out his thank you. The runners finally took their places after shaking hands with a few of the men Hajime had raced against before in 1992. The shot went off and perhaps because he was nervous Kenshin shot like a bullet from the starting line. Hajime shook his head it took the kid about 400m to finally remember he was in for a much longer haul.

'You're gonna hurt your chances!' Hajime thought as he watched Kenshin struggle to stay ahead of him. Hajime a veteran long distance runner had quickly settled into his perfect pace and caught up to Kenshin when they reached the 1500m mark. By the time they reached the 2000m Kenshin seemed to have reached his peak and could not accelerate any more. Hajime however still had plenty of steam left.

'This kid shouldn't be in this race!' thought Hajime fully intending to curse out the boy's coach as soon as the race was over. He grimaced in sympathetic pain as he observed the scar on the back of the boy's head. Perhaps because of the accelerated heart rate it stood out more vividly. Hajime pulled around Kenshin and passed him just as easily as Kenshin had passed him in the shorter races. Hajime however took no pleasure in it seeing how much Kenshin was struggling to keep his position. He was easily able to put about five almost six feet between them.

'Victoria's gonna have a field day with that coach!' Hajime thought viciously looking forward to watching Victoria rip the man a new one! After the 4000m mark he heard a short scream and a hard thud. A quick glance behind him let Hajime know Kenshin was on the ground groaning in pain. He stopped and hurried back. He quickly picked up Kenshin and pulled him away from the other runners shouting for the medics.

"Saito-san…you've been disqualified," Kenshin whined looking confused and sad. Hajime chuckled as he carried the kid towards the medics. Photographers snapped away at the pair ignoring the runners who were reaching the finish line as Hajime set Kenshin down on the stretcher. Neither noticed the hush that had fallen over the crowd.

"Moron! Would you have rather I left you laying there in pain?" Hajime teased lightly. The medics set to work on him quickly. Kenshin had pulled a hamstring and in the fall had sprained his ankle. He would no longer be able to race for the duration of the Olympics. They would take him away for x-rays and Hajime sincerely hoped the kid would not lose his ability to race.

"I cannot thank you enough Saito-san for not leaving me there," Kenshin said looking up at Hajime in absolute wonder.

"It was nothing! Just make sure you get better. You owe me a rematch!" Hajime teased lightly ruffling the boy's hair and Kenshin half groaned and half laughed as the medics bandaged his leg. They looked up then when they realized the crowd in the stadium was singing waving American flags. The large screen showed his and Kenshin's image and words scrolled on the screen.

"What are they singing Saito-san?" Kenshin asked. Hajime smiled back at him.

"The Marine Corp. anthem!" he replied rather proudly "now wave for the camera!" he added in a mock-serious tone. Kenshin laughed and weakly raised his hand to wave with Hajime…

* * *

"I don't understand…why would Hajime throw away his victory? It was your own fault for going on that race!" Seto said to Kenshin confused and with a touch of the arrogance that was his trademark. Kenshin just smiled.

"Because for my Nii-sama a victory without honor is worse than defeat," Aoshi replied solemnly. This did nothing but confuse Seto even more so Victoria explained.

"Seto for Hajime his honor is his life. In his mind set to leave a broken child lying on the ground while he walks away towards his self indulgent victory would've been a crime of unforgivable proportions that would've stripped him completely of his honor. For him no amount of money or medals is worth losing his honor!" Victoria lectured solemnly. Seto frowned trying to take in this new concept.

"Besides the old wolf is a soldier he can't help but be hero all the time!" Sano pointed out "but would it kill him to be a little bit nicer to people or a little more modest!" he added grumbling about how arrogant the wolf in question was. Seto laughed a little but this whole "honor is life" concept was starting to sound not so corny.

"But you learned this lesson already right Seto?" Victoria began mysteriously. Seto frowned.

"What do you mean?" he asked confused. Victoria reminded him then about the duel against Yugi in duelist kingdom.

"You refused to back away…to lose without trying absolutely everything you could to save Mokuba even sacrificing your own life…honor, love, friendship, family sometimes they mean the same. So for you that day your duties… your _honor_ demanded you defeat Yugi no matter the cost. After all you could've walked away…called the authorities you're just kid you could've given up and no one would've faulted you for it…"

"I would've never done that!" Seto cut her off angrily. Victoria just smiled knowingly.

"Exactly…Yugi had much support and protection but you were alone. Who would come to _your _rescue? As far as you knew no one…so only your honor was what you had that day and it was your honor that gave you victory,"

"Honor…" he said softly still looking confused but rolling things over in his mind. It sounds much better than the ridiculous friendship speeches Anzu was constantly ranting.

"But technically I didn't win…" Seto insisted. Victoria rolled her eyes. Broodies were stubborn and annoyingly technical about everything! But to her delight Aoshi provided the correct answer.

"Wrong…from a warrior's point of view you won completely and decisively. In a battle you defeat your opponent when he or she can no longer wield a weapon against you," Aoshi countered solemnly.

"Very good Aoshi! Yes Seto you have to understand Yugi was dueling. Up until that point Yugi and his friends were just playing a game where no one had _really_ gotten hurt yet. You on the other hand were waging war and thus every duel was a real battle with your life and your honor at stake," Victoria explained solemnly.

"So when Yugi dueled against me that day he got his first taste of a real battle…" Seto concluded seemingly unconvinced.

"Exactly but for those who have never faced the decision of sacrificing one person to save another – a situation common in a battlefield – the prospect is paralyzing. Yugi froze and you pushed through simply because you know that winning in a war means you make sacrifices," Aoshi explained calmly.

"But beware it is a difficult path to follow…" Aoshi began and he seemed reluctant to continue so Victoria continued for him.

"To be the best or the strongest means that others will seek leadership from you but it also means that others will seek to take your power putting you constantly at war with foes that become stronger as you become stronger," Victoria lectured very solemnly and for a moment this wisdom excited Seto but there was more to it. Making sacrifices was never a problem for power hungry Seto but power always had a price…

"And as you continue to battle your way to the top you will sacrifice many things: your youth, your family and the lives of those who follow you. Beware Seto it is a hard road to travel and you can never turn back," Aoshi cautioned in a hard tone. His eyes reflected for a moment the horrors he had seen and Seto thought for a moment that he might've glimpsed in Aoshi's green eyes the horrors the man might've inflicted on others. This gave Seto pause…

"Of course that's only if you choose the quick and more seductive path of the demon…" Victoria added again with a glint of mischief back in her eyes "there are other ways of course slower but ultimately more satisfying because after all as quickly as demons rise just as quickly they fall! You now that of course," Victoria lectured calmly letting her words hang for a moment.

"Like Gozaburo and Pegasus…" Seto concluded pensively.

"And like yourself…" Victoria added ominously and with these words she reminded Seto of the trials of the Death-T and how he'd been so completely taken down by what he considered was a "nobody". Seto frowned examining the board.

"I don't like losing…" Seto said softly frowning in confusion. How could you gain power without being a ruthless hard-ass? That didn't seem possible yet somehow Aoshi and his friends had acquired it…

"How do you get power without falling to the demon?" he asked obviously confused. Victoria smiled.

"Well that is not a question I can answer in a few words Seto…and you cannot learn it overnight but once you have it no one can take it away from you," Victoria replied her eyes glittering with excitement. Aoshi smiled nostalgically. He'd gotten that look a long time ago when he had accepted Sensei's training after the kidnapping.

'Yes the new class is about to begin,' Aoshi thought feeling as though a weight had finally been removed from him.

"I want to learn…I want power that can't be taken from me!" Seto declared still looking at the board. He looked up and there was an eager look in his eyes that Aoshi knew only too well. Sensei smiled in much the same way she had back then but he noticed something in her eyes that he hadn't seen before. A moment of sadness touched her eyes before she smiled at him.

"Very well…we will start by finishing Aoshi's tale. I have a feeling it will speed you along the way," Victoria said sitting back in her chair to listen quietly as her broodies talked…

* * *

Oi! This story is more complicated than I originally intended! I am getting to the part where it merges with Tokio's story as well as Hajime's story so I better be careful. All the AUs are coming to merging points so keeping them in sync is very tricky. Misao's part is also going to merge soon. So far Misao's part was a prequel but soon it will be the opposite side of this story. Ack! My head is spinning its so exciting walking this fine line! Just hope I don't fall whimper Wish me luck!

Thanks for reading and reviewing!


	14. Gathering the troops

**Disclaimer****: **I don't own Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, and Yu-Yu Hakusho.

* * *

**To be the Strongest**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Gathering the troops…**

* * *

"But must we suffer the wolf? Can't we just skip to after the Olympics and spending the summer with Sensei, Night and Tokio? I like that part better," Sano complained. Victoria chuckled.

"No Sano, all the players must be introduced," Victoria advised. She nodded to Aoshi so he could continue. Sano shrugged accepting grumpily his fate.

"I was actually disappointed when I participated in the Olympics. I had hoped to find a powerful opponent like Kenshin did but my competition fell shorter than I had hoped," Aoshi began as he placed his next stone on the board. Seto looked up surprised.

"But you took four gold medals! And you broke every record in each style you participated in, how could you be disappointed? You demolished your opponents!" Seto insisted shocked. Aoshi shook his head.

"Now after all that I have seen and done I understand how strong I was then. However, the fact that I defeated them so easily made my victories feel hollow," Aoshi countered. Seto thought about it for a moment and nodded.

"I guess a victory does feel better when it's harder to achieve," Seto agreed thoughtfully. Aoshi nodded solemnly as he made his next move. He explained Sano had defeated the Cuban favorite and won a gold medal in the welterweight category.

"I promised them I would take them to Disneyland if they won so we went to Sensei's home in California where she held a big party for Olympic athletes," Aoshi continued. He explained that most of the attendees were celebrities who were friends with his Sensei and a lot of American Olympians. His cousins Mai and Hana had been there because his Aunt Oume could never pass on his Sensei's newsworthy galas.

* * *

Aoshi sat in his Sensei's game room playing a game of chess with Kenshin. Kenshin was losing badly but he didn't seem to care. Aoshi had already told him he would be taking them to Disneyland with all expenses paid in the VIP tour! Kenshin could care less about whether he lost or won now! In the large game room sat Sano eating a tray full of snacks a nice maid had brought up just for him while his little cousin Mai sat on their new – shall he say friend? – Hajime's lap watching a movie.

"Ugh! Why doesn't she kick her evil stepsisters' butts!" little Mai protested. They were watching Cinderella and it came to the part where the dress the mice make for her is torn to shreds by the two jealous sisters.

"No good…she's outnumbered three to one with no possible back up…those are bad odds. She would need a really good strategy and some firepower wouldn't hurt either," Hajime pointed out in a solemn critical tone adding she obviously did not possess proper training. He said so in such a serious tone that it made Aoshi stop for a moment and watch the movie. Mai giggled and Aoshi understood that the man was probably teasing to get Mai to laugh. He succeeded of course.

Mai had really taken a liking to him! This surprised Aoshi. Mai was rather picky about the people she liked. At school she was popular only because she was richer than everyone else there. She liked bossing people around; she was never this charming or adorable. And yet there she was batting her little eyes at Hajime looking like little Shirley Temple. He - in turn - was far more charming and tender than Aoshi would've thought.

Of course their new friend was an impressive person. He was a highly decorated officer already and that dark blue uniform sure made quite the impression. Mai had never really been around people like him before. His mother – Mrs. Emi Davila – sat at an armchair reading far in the corner. She looked up from her book and smiled every now and then.

She was an interesting person too. She had the oddest gift. She could make you feel comfortable with barely a word. Aoshi had instantly felt at ease with her. That made it odd! It took time for him to feel anything but suspicion around people he didn't know. He turned back to his game idly wondering if she could be the kind of person who could make his dad smile again.

'Oh no,' Aoshi said to himself rolling his eyes. His pretentious cousin Hana – Sapphire as she was known in Japan's pop music world – sashayed into the room interrupting his quiet thoughts. She planted herself between Mai and the TV screen.

"There you are! Just because your cousin likes to commune with the riff raff doesn't mean you should! Come on!" Hana snarled at her sister gesturing angrily with her hand. When Mai wouldn't move, she crossed her arms and glared at Hajime. Mai glared back at her and held on tight to Hajime. Aoshi knew Hajime didn't speak Japanese – despite having a Japanese name – but he frowned just the same. He obviously understood the tone. Calmly, he paused the movie.

"You know it's rude to stand in front of the TV when someone else is watching," Hajime pointed out calmly, completely unfazed by Hana's rude behavior.

"Shut up! I'm not talking to you, you worthless peasant!" she shot at him in English. To Aoshi's surprise he merely smirked.

"A peasant I maybe but I'm not the one acting like a foul mouthed little street punk," Hajime countered calmly. Hana bristled, Mai giggled and Sano guffawed. Kenshin snickered a little and Aoshi couldn't help a tiny smirk. He liked it when Hana was cut down to size. She was a selfish mean brat who abused everyone around her. The very rare occasions when she got what she deserved was worth seeing.

"How dare you speak to me like that you filthy rat? You're not fit to even be in the same room as me!" she shot back sputtering angrily.

"You're right on that count. Kid's like you are usually more at home down in a cell at the juvenile detention center. Not partying with the law," he added pointing to himself still smirking calmly. Hana was so angry her mouth opened and closed but nothing came out. Sano laughed loudly. Aoshi shot a glance at Hajime's mother but she frowned in deep concern as she watched.

"Only good, respectful little kids get to do that!" he added cheerfully smiling at Mai as he stroked her head. Mai smiled bashfully and she snuggled up against him. Aoshi smirked again; he liked this guy more and more. He was good at messing with people's heads. Aoshi watched with fascination smirking evilly as Hajime showed him an interesting way to defeat an enemy. It was quite the revelation! He utterly defeated her without ever moving from his seat or raising his voice or even making threats!

'I want to learn that!' Aoshi thought. Sano was laughing so hard now he could barely breathe. Kenshin continued to snicker amused. Aoshi could understand their enjoyment. Hana always took her bad moods out on his friends and they were always powerless to defend themselves. For the sake of their not so rich families they swallowed their pride; Aoshi's Aunt Oume was a petty and vindictive woman. Hana sputtered incoherently unable to find a mature enough rejoinder.

"Now if you would get out of the way please. We're trying to watch the movie," Hajime added with a dismissive wave of his hand then picked up the remote. Hana's face was red from the effort of containing her anger. She turned on her heel and stomped away. She went straight to Sano's chair near the door.

"What are you laughing at you idiot peasant?" she yelled at him. Sano was laughing so hard he couldn't answer. Finally at her wits end she slapped his tray dumping his snacks all over his lap. Sano was up from his chair, his eyes flashing angrily but he turned away quickly wiping food off his clothes as he stepped away. There was nothing he could say or do. Hana smirked triumphantly and Aoshi responded for him.

"Can't win against a superior opponent so you pick on the one whose bound by his friendship to me not to defend him self. You're a _**stain**_ upon our family's honor!" Aoshi spat at her with utter disdain. She responded by walking over to him and knocking over his chess set. Aoshi simply glares at her. Hajime stepped in once more.

"Gee, here I thought you were supposed to be a well educated debutant but it turns out you're nothing but a foul mouthed little brat who throws tantrums when you don't get what you want. How pathetic…" Hajime mocked and spoke again before she could say anything.

"Go do what bratty little kids like you do when they don't get their way: Go tell on me to your mommy," he concluded in a derisive tone shooing her away with another dismissive wave of his hand. He turned away finally and turned the movie back on ignoring the insults she threw his way as she marched out angrily. Aoshi smirked for a second. He really liked this guy! Remembering his discomfited friend he turned to Sano and found Mrs. Emi comforting Sano and helping him clean his clothes.

"Don't worry Sano…we'll get you some more snacks… Such an immature little girl…" Emi soothed advising Sano in a tender tone to not be bothered by such displays. She continued telling him he was the bigger person for not sinking to her level. She insisted he should be proud of himself. Sano's face changed and he suddenly didn't seem angry and frustrated anymore.

"When the maid comes back, we'll ask her to bring more snacks up, ok?" she added finally helping dust off his chair. She went in to the bathroom to throw away the trash she had collected. While she was gone Aoshi growled softly as his Aunt came in the room. Kenshin was picking up pieces of the chess set and did not pause at Oume's arrival.

"Mai, what are you and Aoshi doing here communing with these worthless peasants? I'm tired of it! Come with me now! You should've come with your sister!" Oume scolded standing in front of the TV as Hana had done. Mai looked upset and she turned her face away not willing to relinquish her spot on Hajime's lap, but knowing she would have to obey her mother in the end.

'I don't care what she says…she won't order me around ever again!' Aoshi seethed, his Aunt just loved to ruin his and Mai's good time. She always did it and he was sick of it! Mrs. Emi returned to the room then and while Aoshi struggled with something to say Mrs. Emi was ready!

"Now wait just a minute! These boys are hard working young men who have earned the highest athletic ranks in the world! Nothing gives you the right to speak of them like that!" Emi defended quickly.

"Furthermore, _they _are well mannered, well _behaved_ young people! I can't say the same for our last visitor!" Emi threw in with just the right touch of scorn in her voice. Oume's face turned red and her eyes flashed with anger. Aoshi smirked coldly. Emi had hit her right where it hurt. Hana was an out of control teen and Aoshi always suspected that Oume hated that his friends were better behaved and more respectful than Hana.

'I see where he gets it!' Aoshi thought listening avidly. He looked at Hajime and he smirked, his face full of pride and triumph.

"Listen you dirty little whore. This is a private conversation between me and my _family_!" Oume replied sneering. Hajime's face changed instantly. He clenched his jaw tight and there was so much deadly anger in his eyes that for an instant Aoshi feared for his Aunt's life! He voiced his objection to his Aunt's dishonorable and immature comment as he got up from his chair, knocking over the chess set again in the process. Kenshin and Sano quickly joined him.

Oume paid them no attention but when she saw the look on Hajime's face the smirk of satisfaction vanished from her face. She looked away from him and took a step away from him. Her eyes flashed fear for just an instant. Aoshi was astonished! No one but his father could ever make his Aunt cower like that! Emi called for calm once more.

"General rules of etiquette demand that if you're going to have a private conversation with someone you are supposed to politely summon them away from the group, allow that person or persons to properly excuse themselves, _then_ have your conversation once you are in a more private location," Emi countered in a calm condescending tone. Sano laughed derisively and Kenshin snickered. Hajime smirked again with pride and satisfaction but the promise of danger in his eyes didn't quite go away.

"Don't you _dare_ tell me how to act _**peasant**_!" Oume countered at a complete disadvantage casting angry glances at the amused boys. Aoshi was thoroughly enjoying this! For once it was her Aunt receiving the public humiliation and not his friends! It was about time!

"Oh but I think I should! After all, though I may be just a _peasant,_ I am not the one spouting obscenities in the presence of small children," Emi replied smirking triumphantly. Aoshi knew that his Aunt had been thoroughly defeated. There was nothing she could say that wouldn't make her look even more weak and foolish.

"How dare you speak to me like that? You filthy –" Oume began bristling with barely contained fury.

"For someone so high class your mouth is filthier than a sewer! A poor example _you're_ setting for the fine young people in this room," Emi cut her off with a haughty tone. Oume glares angrily and opens her mouth to respond. However, she was spared further humiliation as Aoshi's father finally arrived.

"Please come with me now little sister," Hannya ordered calmly. He leveled her with a look that never failed to make Oume cower. Aoshi smirked in triumph. His aunt was surely going to get it good this time! His father would see to it. Emi stood very straight and still for a moment and glared right back at Oume as she stormed out of the room after her brother. She was tense for a couple of seconds then relaxed and turned to Sano.

"Why don't I go look for that maid?" Emi suggested in a sweet soft tone patting Sano on the cheek. Sanosuke grinned with maniacal glee and merely nodded. Mai was staring at Emi with awe. Kenshin on the other hand looked pensive and smiled just a little then he bent down to pick up some of the fallen pieces of the chess set. Emi left the room then.

"I like your mom Wolf!" Sano laughed. Hajime merely smirked proudly and nodded. He rewound the movie to the point before the disruptions and he and Mai continued to watch in uninterrupted peace. Aoshi settled the pieces back to their start positions and told Kenshin they could start their game over.

"You know Kenshin…it occurs to me that it's time for my father to start over too," Aoshi thought out loud. He wondered if it would be possible to bring his father and Mrs. Emi together.

"You know…I was thinking the same thing!" Kenshin agreed cheerfully as they began their game again…

* * *

"Oh momma is awesome!" Sano chuckled playing with his keychain. Kenshin took something out of his pocket and began fiddling with it too.

"You know…from what you've told me I thought you would have tried to set him up with Kenshin's mom first," Seto commented. Kenshin shook his head with amusement.

"My mother always thought of Hannya as a brother. She always says he reminds her too much of my Uncle Hiko! We gave up on that idea fairly early on. Besides my parents ended up getting back together," Kenshin explained cheerfully. Aoshi added that Kenshin's father had not appeared after the kidnapping because his plane had crash landed in Baharavia during a bad storm. He was badly injured and by the time his airline located him they decided not to relay the message of his son's condition because there was no way he could leave Baharavia in his own condition.

"Plus, all flights in and out of Baharavia had been canceled because the international airport was practically destroyed. The airline lied to us and told us they had relayed the message and they would call us when he returned," Kenshin added bitterly. Victoria put in her two cents then.

"I have a lot of friends in Baharavia though so eventually I did find out what happened to Toshizo. I dare say Hannya was less than pleased when he found out the truth," Victoria added with a smirk of amusement. She explained Hannya had stormed into the airline director's office and demanded answers. When he became less than cooperative Hannya simply did a hostile takeover of the company and fired him – along with anyone else who had willingly gone along with it.

"His girlfriend apparently didn't bother trying to tell him either so Toshi had no problems kicking her out of his apartment the instant he was able to come home," Victoria added. Kenshin explained his father's near death experience – added to Kenshin's tragedy – changed him. Slowly, through their mutual concern for their son's welfare, he and Chizuru drifted back together.

"It was a good ending…all things considered," Sano added distractedly still intent on the little device in his hands. Seto could now see that the little device was a very small figurine that looked familiar to Seto but he couldn't quite remember where he'd seen it.

"True…so where was I?" Aoshi asked himself as he placed his next stone.

"Ah yes…father confronted my aunt and apparently so did momma," Aoshi recounted with a smirk. Victoria listened quietly thinking of her own recollections of that day.

* * *

"I told you to leave the kids alone!" Hannya yelled at her as he dragged Oume into a reading room two doors away from the entertainment room the kids were in. This was the first time he had managed to put Aoshi, Mai and Hajime in the same room. There was no way he was letting his overbearing sister ruin it.

"I will not allow my flesh and blood to be seen consorting with _**filth**_! It is beneath their status!" Oume snarled at him. Hannya seethed but with visible effort he managed to reign in his anger. Oume was still spitting out the same old outdated nonsense! Nothing ever changed with her!

"I'll remind you _little_ sister that those ridiculous notions nearly cost you and father our family's fortune!" he spit back at her. He smirked in satisfaction as Oume looked away angry and ashamed. Failure was something she despised especially if it was her own. Before he could say anything more a new voice joined them.

"What is wrong with you?" Emi Davila shot at her angrily. Hannya did a double take! He had not expected her to show up for another round with Oume! To his delighted surprise the woman did not allow Oume to respond.

"You have everything you want! Money, power and prestige…Why can't you be happy and leave the rest of us _**alone**_?" she yelled at her angry and frustrated, her fists clenched tight in anger.

"I'll be happy when you and your _bastard_ child crawl back to the sewers where you belong!" shot back Oume but her rebuttal was obviously immature and weak to Hannya. Hannya himself was speechless! Out of Ms. Davila's mouth had come the exact same words his Rinoa had spat at Oume when she tried to prevent him from marrying Rinoa.

"_My __**son**_ is an honorable man! He has earned his right to stand tall among the _best_! And he is a better person than you and certainly a _**greater man**_ than his father has ever been or will ever hope to be!" Emi declared proudly. Emi scored again! Kamo – Oume's husband – was a womanizing drunkard whose illicit affairs were constant headlines on the Japanese tabloids. Emi's fiercely proud declaration utterly humiliated Oume and snapped Hannya out of his reverie.

"That is enough Oume! You have no right to talk to her like this! You dishonor our family with your vulgar behavior and I am _sick_ of it!" he added forcefully. Hope was now renewed in Hannya! If Ms. Davila was willing to stand up to Oume like this it meant there was a chance he could bring her and Hajime back into their family! When he first met Hajime, the boy asked him to stay away for fear of his mother's safety. Obviously now neither Hajime nor Ms. Davila felt fear of Oume.

"He's absolutely right! It is in poor taste to insult your host's friends, Oume," added Victoria cheerfully as she elegantly made her way into the room. She smiled evilly at Oume. Oume opened her mouth to rebut but thought better of it and said nothing.

"Hannya, Emi…I need a word in private with Oume please," Victoria announced. Emi nodded looking flustered and shaken, without a word she left the room. Hannya hurried after her hoping that with Emi's show of force he could bring them back into their family…

Victoria listened as the boys now talked about getting Hannya to get Hajime to teach them to surf the next day. Aoshi talked about the circumstances that made Mai and Hajime brother and sister. Seto listened avidly to Aoshi's stories hoping out loud for a chance to meet Hajime. He talked about the time Hajime had humiliated another of Aoshi's pretentious cousins without much effort during a family gathering in California that summer. Aoshi enjoyed it whenever Hajime stomped one of his pretentious cousins. He talked too about how he and Hajime had conspired with their Sensei to set Emi and Hannya up on their first date. Playing matchmaker was one of Victoria's favorite pastimes!

"Momma will be coming soon to visit; you will like her when you meet her," Aoshi promised adding a verbal invitation for him and Mokuba to come to his family reunion party in two weeks. His brother and his sister in law would be coming too. Tokio was on maternity leave and the reunion had been moved to accommodate her and the new baby.

As they talked now about Tokio and about earning her trust, Victoria's mind stayed fixed on her conversation with Oume and the incident they had discussed. An incident that Victoria – for now – was able to keep secret from Hannya and Aoshi. Hajime had found out eventually. He made an effort to maintain the secret as well but Victoria still worried that Hajime's barely restrained hostility might prompt Aoshi's curiosity.

Victoria smiled coldly as she approached Oume. The look on her face reminded Oume of a lioness stalking a cornered prey.

"You know…I was going to wait until after the party but…what the heck… Now is as good a time as any!" Victoria began grinning with wicked glee. Oume was paralyzed by fear.

"Remember that incident with Kamo a few years back? Remember that I told you that in exchange for my silence and that of my people I would one day ask you for something and you would give it to me…no questions asked…remember?" she continued in a smooth elegant tone as she walked slowly past Oume towards the couch by the window.

"In fact it happened in this very room," Victoria pointed out not trying this time to block out the psychic impression left in the room by her little protégé. She had gotten rid of the furniture that had been in the room at the time and remodeled the whole room but the impression was still heavy in here. She let the silence stretch to allow Oume to fill with dread.

'How can the impression still be so strong?' Victoria thought. She was transported to Tokio's state of mind almost three years ago. Her mind automatically coupled it to the security tapes she had retrieved later and stored. Tokio had been alone in Victoria's study concentrating on the thick book she had opened on the desk in front of her. Kamo walked in staggering …he was drunk as always.

Through the connection she could feel Tokio's mild disdain as she glared at Kamo. She closed her book and gathered her notes to leave. Kamo blocked her way so she glared some more at him as she tried to push past him. He did not let her and pushed her back against Victoria's giant oak desk. Horror and utter disgust replaced disdain as Tokio struggled to free herself from his grip. She finally seemed to manage when she bit him on the arm.

Fear and disgust screamed out of her mind as he caught her again and slammed her this time on the couch. Her throat could produce no screams as Kamo put all his weight against it with his hand. His other hand pulled at her shirt and stuck itself under it pulling at her bra. He squeezed her breast in the cruelest manner as she struggled to get him away from her. Despair gripped her and her vision blurred as her brain was deprived of oxygen. She continued to struggle in fear and despair hoping to at least be unconscious until after it was over.

'It was that fear that called me in to the room,' Victoria thought working hard to keep her face neutral. She had saved Tokio and Kamo had not really been able to cause any more physical damage. Victoria still worried about her though. The girl spent way too much time alone since then and she was severely distrustful of not just men but people in general. She was polite but always on guard. Perhaps the fact that Night was her constant shadow whenever she had to come here wasn't helping like she thought it would.

'But she doesn't come very often anymore,' Victoria thought regretting most of all the loss of the lovely simple lunches she used to share on Sundays with Tokio. Tokio claimed to be too busy with school but Victoria knew better. She didn't even take many catalog assignments anymore – just the bare minimum to pay her school and living expenses. At least she did still travel and train with Nightraven. There was still some hope left. She had a feeling that Aoshi, Sano and Kenshin could help her reclaim her lost child.

"You see Oume…I finally figured out what I want from you," Victoria finally announced enjoying with wicked glee the terrified look on Oume's face. There was more to it of course. Tokio was the last survivor of a very prestigious old family. She had all the class and charm of a well trained debutant – in fact – when compared to Hana and her so called society friends, Tokio was clearly superior. Her father was descended from a noble high ranking samurai family. Should the Japanese tabloids ever hear of the incident Oume would be ruined.

"What do you want from me?" Oume asked in a fearful whisper. Victoria smirked evilly. She turned to look at the door through which Emi had stormed out followed closely by Hannya. She turned back towards Oume grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"No…no…no! Anyone but her!" Oume pleaded in vain. They had this conversation before. Aoshi needed a mother figure in his life – Oume's own attempts at that had failed miserably – and Hannya should not continue to be alone. However, Oume's attempts to connect her brother with one of her high society friends had failed time and time again. Hannya hated her "society" friends.

"Aoshi and Hannya _need_ her," Victoria insisted her face now commanding and stern. Victoria knew this with absolute certainty! If anyone could rebuild Hannya and Aoshi's broken souls it would be Emi. She was only too happy to help that become reality. After all, there was only so much she could do for her boys.

"But he has you! You're perfect!" Oume countered desperately hoping to avoid the worst of scenarios. Victoria's eyes bore into Oume with unwavering conviction and her knees weakened. Slowly the woman sank into the chair in front of Victoria.

"No Oume…they need a warm place where their hearts can find refuge from their cold world. I know that sounds cheesy but neither you nor I can give them that," Victoria pointed out feeling the sting of grief that she never failed to feel when her children were hurting. Oume's mouth opened and closed but nothing came out. Silence stretched out as Oume's despair hung heavy in the air.

"Emi is perfect for that!" Victoria insisted with renewed energy as she got up from her chair. Oume looked up pleadingly.

"Please not her," she begged softly but it was futile. Victoria's mind was set…she would show Oume no mercy!

"Well I can always show the tapes to your brother…or better yet I can sell them to the tabloids in your country. I know they would love it!" Victoria threatened with wicked glee.

"No…please…" Oume replied in an utterly defeated voice. Victoria smiled. This would be a hard lesson for Oume but one that was very necessary. She was certain that in the end even Oume would benefit from the schemes she was about to set in motion.

"Now come along Oume! There is much to do!" Victoria ordered as she beckoned Oume. Without a word the defeated Oume followed her out…

"Well at any rate Sano's resemblance to Tokio-dono's deceased brother helped immensely, that it did," Kenshin added. He explained some more about Tokio and her tragic life circumstances. She had lived under the constant abuse of her cousin who enjoyed much protection from the law. It wasn't until Tokio began working for the Air force that she finally managed to free herself from his abuse and find a way to end his protection.

"The fact that she managed to succeed in spite of the constant physical abuse from her cousin and the mental abuse from his parents is what made her our greatest ally," Aoshi added. Sano pointed out that Tokio had been living on her own since she was 15 and she had to struggle through some really harsh years to enjoy the happiness she now revels in.

"Sis's awesome! You'll see when you meet her," Sano pointed out cheerfully "but I still think she just felt sorry for him! Damn wolf…" Sano grumbled mildly annoyed still playing with his little keychain. Seto nodded glad that he would soon get to meet this Tokio and her Wolf. They were definitely people he would like to get to know. Finally curiosity got the better of Seto.

"What is that thing you're so intent on Sano?" he asked finally. Sano grinned widely and held up a small blue and red truck.

"Optimus Prime! Tokio gave it to me! It belonged to her brother," Sano proudly exclaimed. He took it in his hands again, fiddled with it and then held up the transformed tiny robot keychain. He looked at Aoshi and then smirked mischievously. Seto frowned but before he could ask anything Kenshin spoke up.

"Just so you know, you're not the only teenager to kiss a beautiful older woman, that you are not!" Kenshin added in a teasing tone as he and Sano cast quick glances at Aoshi. Aoshi didn't look up from the Go board.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Aoshi commented throwing a cold glare at Kenshin and Sano. Of course Sano and Kenshin were unaffected. Quite the opposite! They giggled mischievously but said nothing.

"You're right! You should continue that you should!" replied Kenshin with a big grin on his face. Seto narrowed his eyes in suspicion. As Aoshi continued Sano pointed to his little figure then winked giving Seto a direct clue as to who it was Aoshi had kissed when he was young…

* * *

A/N

Slowly we continue! I have to put-put my way through this one because I want to keep all the timelines consistent. It's easier to review chapters when they are shorter. I have not abandoned my stories. I've just been a little busy. Hopefully, I should be able to update more often.

Thank you for your patience.


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